Editor’s Perspective

Why is Myopia Management Important?

March 13, 2019

By Dwight Akerman, OD, MBA, FAAO
Chief Medical Editor, Review of Myopia Management

Welcome to the Review of Myopia Management (RMM), the first multichannel digital resource dedicated to myopia! We aspire to be a leading source for eye care professionals of clinical, practice development, and research information on myopia management.

Each edition of RMM incorporates an editorial theme that will drive content. Our first theme asks, “Why is Myopia Management Important?” The answer comes from articles written by leaders in myopia care. Prof. Padmaja Sankaridurg, an accomplished researcher who leads the Global Myopia Centre of the Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI) in Sydney, Australia, writes about the alarming increase in the prevalence of myopia and high myopia. Optometrist Tim Fricke, a senior research fellow with BHVI, details the public health burden of myopia and high myopia, and Dr. Eric Ritchey, an assistant professor at the University of Houston College of Optometry, describes the ocular health risks associated with myopia.

The content of the April edition will answer the question “Who to target with myopia management interventions?” and the May edition will answer,When to initiate myopia management intervention & when to stop?”

Another regular feature of RMM is Research Reviews & White Papers– summaries of seminal peer-reviewed myopia articles and cutting-edge myopia issues. Podcasts and video interviews with experienced myopia management from around the world will also be part of our digital resources.

To date, most eye care professionals have not incorporated myopia management into their practices to any significant extent, primarily due to lack of knowledge about how to integrate pediatric myopia management into a primary care optometric practice. With the help of our Editorial Advisory Board, we will tackle these barriers with actionable tools and techniques.

With treatment options available that have demonstrated efficacy, ECPs have a professional responsibility to discuss myopia management options with all parents of children at risk for progressive myopia. Working together, we can reverse the myopia pandemic. I welcome your suggestions and comments.

Best professional regards, 

Dwight H. Akerman, OD, MBA, FAAO
Chief Medical Editor dwight.akerman@gmail.com

 

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