Re: CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Eye Care Conference at Yale


Yes, a second-opinion section should be part
of this Yale symposium. Ya think that is ever going
to happen.

Approximately when do you think that hell is
going to freeze over?

Perhaps the subject of over-prescribing by -4 diopters
should be evaluated -- as discussed below:


COMMENTARY FROM A CONCERNED MOTHER ABOUT THE NEED TO DO YOUR OWN
CHECKING WITH AN EYE CHART
AN EXCESSIVELY STRONG PRESCRIPTION?


HOW OFTEN DOES THIS HAPPEN, AND WHAT IS THE LONG-TERM EFFECT AND
CONSEQUENCE?


I have retyped this letter from the original and changed the names.
Jeanie's daughter started out (at age six) with 20/50. She received a
strong minus lens -- even though 20/50 is acceptable for most
children. After years of receiving minus lenses stronger than
necessary, she received a lens increase from -6.0 to -10.0 diopters.
Jeanie's suspicion and response is described in the following
paragraphs.

JEANIE BRAVE'S LETTER:


Here are copies of my daughter's eye records and
prescriptions. You will never know how grateful I am for you and
Mr. Severson. When I stop and think of what could have happened
to Shanna had I not found you -- my blood starts to boil. I have
come to realize that people never question eye doctors as they do
medical doctors. We are all at their mercy and do not even know
it. You have my permission to give my telephone number to anyone
who you feel needs it.


A CHECK-UP BEFORE SCHOOL


Shanna received the new contacts on August 5. She puts in
-10.0 Diopter and is able to see -- she says one mile down the
road. I immediately told her to take them out. After begging my
optometrist to please give me information to stabilize her vision,
he becomes EXTREMELY UPSET.

I then went to the libraries and book
stores looking for information but I found only William Bates'
name. I then ordered his book. Next I found Mr. Severson and
finally you in the back of his book. After reading your books I
immediately knew I had the wrong optometrist -- so I nicely asked
his assistance in obtaining a -6 Diopter lens for studying.

The doctor reluctantly gave them to Shanna, telling us to use them
for
STUDYING ONLY. I then confirmed the focal status of Shanna's
eye's, by assisting her in checking her vision against the eye
chart -- both inside and outside.

8/26/95 20/20 -8.0 RE -7.5 LE

8/26/95 20/100 -6.0 RE -6.0 LE (Provided for reading)

8/31/95 20/40 -6.0 RE -6.0 LE

9/26/95 20/20 -6.0 RE -6.0 LE (See the -10.0 D prescription below)


Since she was seeing so well on 9/26/95, I told her to remove
her contacts and then come back outside. Without ANYTHING on she
stood 20 feet away and could focus on the 20/70 and 20/50 line for
about 2 or 3 seconds -- then she said it would flash or float
away.

An Excessive -10 D Prescription?


Prescription by Dr. Bob Smyeth, Optometrist, Dated 8/5/95:

[Name changed to protect the guilty.]

Patient: Shanna Brave, Birth Date, 3/2/82:

8/5/85 20/20 -10.0 RE -9.5 LE (Prescription)

In subsequent conversations with Jeanie, she stated that her nine year-
old son was just starting into nearsightedness, and that she would do
everything in her power to help her son with the proper use of the
plus lens -- to avoid the catastrophic situation that had developed
with her daughter. Jeanie wondered why this knowledge is not made
generally available to the parents of young children.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YOUR MOTIVATION IS CRUCIAL IN ORDER TO DEFEAT MYOPIA


It is clear that an intelligent, motivated pilot or student can use
the plus lens for close work, check his eyes against the eye chart,
and clear his vision back to normal.

=================


On Jul 4, 9:48 pm, "otisbr...@xxxxxx" <otisbr...@xxxxxx> wrote:
And of course, a good topic would be the habit
of over-prescribing a child by -4 diopters.

And how to handle the mother who "complains"
after the -4 diopter over-prescription is detected.

Well that is easy, just tell her:

1. She had a muscle spasm.

2. She will get "used to it".

3. Etc.

But you asked for confirmation for this
poor child. So here it is.

Let this symposium discuss this topic -- by
second-opinion ODs.

++++++++++

COMMENTARY FROM A CONCERNED MOTHER ABOUT THE NEED TO DO YOUR OWN
CHECKING WITH AN EYE CHART
AN EXCESSIVELY STRONG PRESCRIPTION?

HOW OFTEN DOES THIS HAPPEN, AND WHAT IS THE LONG-TERM EFFECT AND
CONSEQUENCE?

I have retyped this letter from the original and changed the names.
Jeanie's daughter started out (at age six) with 20/50. She received a
strong minus lens -- even though 20/50 is acceptable for most
children. After years of receiving minus lenses stronger than
necessary, she received a lens increase from -6.0 to -10.0 diopters.
Jeanie's suspicion and response is described in the following
paragraphs.

JEANIE BRAVE'S LETTER:

Here are copies of my daughter's eye records and
prescriptions. You will never know how grateful I am for you and
Mr. Severson. When I stop and think of what could have happened
to Shanna had I not found you -- my blood starts to boil. I have
come to realize that people never question eye doctors as they do
medical doctors. We are all at their mercy and do not even know
it. You have my permission to give my telephone number to anyone
who you feel needs it.

A CHECK-UP BEFORE SCHOOL

Shanna received the new contacts on August 5. She puts in
-10.0 Diopter and is able to see -- she says one mile down the
road. I immediately told her to take them out. After begging my
optometrist to please give me information to stabilize her vision,
he becomes EXTREMELY UPSET.

I then went to the libraries and book
stores looking for information but I found only William Bates'
name. I then ordered his book. Next I found Mr. Severson and
finally you in the back of his book. After reading your books I
immediately knew I had the wrong optometrist -- so I nicely asked
his assistance in obtaining a -6 Diopter lens for studying.

The doctor reluctantly gave them to Shanna, telling us to use them for
STUDYING ONLY. I then confirmed the focal status of Shanna's
eye's, by assisting her in checking her vision against the eye
chart -- both inside and outside.

8/26/95 20/20 -8.0 RE -7.5 LE

8/26/95 20/100 -6.0 RE -6.0 LE (Provided for reading)

8/31/95 20/40 -6.0 RE -6.0 LE

9/26/95 20/20 -6.0 RE -6.0 LE (See the -10.0 D prescription below)

Since she was seeing so well on 9/26/95, I told her to remove
her contacts and then come back outside. Without ANYTHING on she
stood 20 feet away and could focus on the 20/70 and 20/50 line for
about 2 or 3 seconds -- then she said it would flash or float
away.

On Jul 4, 3:09 pm, Jennifer Staple <Jennifer.Sta...@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:



Please Forward Widely

Unite For Sight Fifth Annual International Health & Eye Care
Conference
Building Global Health For Today and Tomorrow
April 12-13, 2008
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticuthttp://www.uniteforsight.org/conference/2008

Join 2,000 conference attendees and 130 speakers for a stimulating
conference.
Keynote Addresses By: Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Dr. Sonia Sachs, Dr. Susan
Blumenthal, and Dr. Jim Yong Kim
Plus More Than 130 Featured Speakers
Call For Abstracts - DEADLINE JULY 15, 2007 -http://uniteforsight.org/conference/2008/abstracts.php

Register For Conference - EARLY BIRD RATE ($45 Students, $70 All
Others) http://www.uniteforsight.org/conference/2008REGISTERBY JULY
15th TO SECURE LOWEST RATE

Who should attend? Anyone interested in eye care, international
health, public health, international development, medicine, social
entrepreneurship, nonprofits, philanthropy, microfinance, bioethics,
anthropology, health policy, advocacy, and public service.

*Keynote Addresses*

* Susan Blumenthal, MD, MPA, Former U.S. Assistant Surgeon
General; Senior Advisor For Health and Medicine; Former Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Women's Health, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown School
of Medicine and Tufts University Medical Center
* Jim Yong Kim, MD, PhD, Co-Founder, Partners in Health; Director,
François Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights; François
Xavier Bagnoud Professor of Health and Human Rights, Harvard School of
Public Health; Chair, Department of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical
School; Chief of the Division of Social Medicine and Health
Inequalities, Brigham and Women's Hospital; Former HIV/AIDS Director
at World Health Organization
* Jeffrey Sachs, PhD, Director of Earth Institute at Columbia
University; Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, Professor
of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University; Special Advisor
to Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon
* Sonia Sachs, MD, MPH, Health Coordinator, Millennium Villages

*130 Featured Speakers (Listed Below Are The Speakers Confirmed Thus
Far)*

* Ted M. Alemayhu, Founder, Chairman and CEO, US Doctors For
Africa
* Greg Allgood, PhD, Director, Children's Safe Drinking Water,
Procter & Gamble
* R. Rand Allingham, MD, Professor of Ophthalmology; Director,
Glaucoma Service, Duke University Eye Center
* Jared Ament, MD, MPh, Clinical Research Fellow, Ophthalmolology
& Corneal Surgery, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard
Medical School; Harvard School of Public Health
* Jane Aronson, MD, Director, International Pediatric Health
Services; Founder and Executive Medical Director, Worldwide Orphans
Foundation (WWO); Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Weill
Medical College of Cornell University
* Thomas Baah, MD, MSc, Ophthalmologist, Our Lady of Grace
Hospital, Ghana
* Michele Barry, MD, FACP, Professor of Medicine and Global Health
Director, Office of International Health; Chief, General Medicine
Firm, Yale University School of Medicine
* Georges Benjamin, MD, Executive Director, American Public Health
Association
* Paul Berman, OD, FAAO, Senior Global Clinical Advisor and
Founder, Special Olympics Lions Clubs, International Opening Eyes
* Terry Blaschke, MD, Professor of Medicine and of Molecular
Pharmacology (Active Emeritus), Stanford University School of Medicine
* Neil Boothby, EdD, Professor of Clinical Population and Family
Health; Director, Program on Forced Migration and Health, Mailman
School of Public Health
* Harry S. Brown, MD, Founder, Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE)
International
* Donald Budenz, MD, MPH, Professor of Ophthalmology,
Epidemiology, and Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of
Medicine
* Michael Cappello, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology
and Public Health; Director, Program in International Child Health; Co-
Director, International Adoption Clinic, Yale University School of
Medicine
* Emily Moore and Mark Carlson, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Sociology,
San Diego State University
* James Clarke, MD, Ophthalmologist and Medical Director, Crystal
Eye Clinic, Ghana
* Susan Day, MD, Chair and Program Director, Pediatric
Ophthalmology and Strabismus, California Pacific Medical Center
* Syril Dorairaj, MD, Clinical Research Fellow, Glaucoma
Associates of New York, The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary
* Margaret Duah-Mensah, Ophthalmic Nurse, Crystal Eye Clinic,
Ghana
* Andy Ellner, MD, Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative
* Sheri Fink, MD, PhD, Kaiser Media Fellow in Global Health;
Visiting Scientist, Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and
Human Rights, Harvard School of Public Health; Senior Fellow, Harvard
Humanitarian Initiative
* Susan Hall Forster, MD, Associate Clinical Professor, Department
of Medical Studies, Department of Ophthalmology, Yale School of
Medicine; Chief, Ophthalmology, Yale University Health Services
* David Friedman, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
and International Health, Johns Hopkins University
* Urick Gaillard, JD, Founder and Executive Director, The Batey
Relief Alliance
* Gabriel Garcia, MD, Professor of Medicine, Associate Dean of
Medical School Admissions, Stanford University School of Medicine
* Nora Groce, PhD, Associate Professor and Director, Yale/WHO
Collaborating Centre, Global Health Division, Yale School of Public
Health
* Michael Gyasi, MD, Ophthalmologist and Director of the Bawku Eye
Care Program, Ghana
* Heskel M. Haddad, MD, Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology, New
York Medical College
* Leon Herndon, MD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Duke
University Eye Center
* Ibrahim Jabr, Interim President, International Trachoma
Initiative
* Rosemary Janiszewski, MS, CHES, Deputy Director, Office of
Communication, Health Education and Public Liaison; Director, National
Eye Health Eucation Program, National Eye Institute (NEI), National
Institutes of Health
* Evaleen Jones, MD, Founder, President and Medical Director,
Child Family Health International; Clinical Assistant Professor,
Stanford University School of Medicine
* Dean Karlan, PhD, President and Founder of Innovations for
Poverty Action; Assistant Professor of Economics, Yale University
* Zachary Kaufman, MPhil in International Relations; DPhil
Candidate in International Relations, University of Oxford; JD
Candidate, Yale University Law School
* Kaveh Khoshnood, PhD, Assistant Professor in Public Health
Practice, Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School
of Public Health
* Doug Lawrence, Vice President/General

...

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