Cheers and Changes

Happy New Year from all of us at Modern Optometry! We hope you are as excited as we are about what’s in store for eye care in 2023. First off, you’ll notice a new face on this page. We would like to say a big thank you to Leslie O’Dell, OD, FAAO, for her contributions to Modern Optometry since its launch in 2019. This publication would not be what it is today if it wasn’t for Leslie’s input and passion, and we are grateful to have her continued support and guidance as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board.

With that said, we are excited to welcome Selina McGee, OD, FAAO, as co-chief medical editor. Selina brings a wealth of knowledge in the eye care space, and as many of you know, she is a phenomenal optometrist, educator, and advocate for the integration of medical optometry into our practices. The three of us look forward to combining our synergies on all things MOD.

January was Glaucoma Awareness Month, so it seemed only fitting for us to dedicate the first issue of the year to the disease. After all, it is an exciting time in the glaucoma space. There have been new advances in medications, medication delivery, and diagnostic technology, and surgical interventions continue to make strides to help our patients. Our goal as eye care providers in managing glaucoma is to preserve vision using effective treatment options, but also always balancing safety with efficacy. Our patients depend on us to stay current so that we can provide them with the most up-to-date recommendations.

In the United States, the number of people with glaucoma continues to rise year after year. Optometrists need to embrace the diagnosis and management of these individuals. It is in our hands to prevent vision loss, and we have the tools to do so. Publications such as Modern Optometry allow our colleagues to share their knowledge and experience on a variety of topics, some of which you may already be an expert on, but other topics may be murky territory, and in these cases, we hope the articles we planned help clarify, explain, or otherwise benefit you.

As far as glaucoma goes, there is no doubt that our role in managing this disease has been expanding for quite some time and will only continue. Ami Halvorson, OD, and Kirk Halvorson, OD, dive into this topic in their article, “Glaucoma Diagnosis, Treatment, and Scope: a Review.” As our role in the management of glaucoma increases, we will need to better understand when to treat it and how aggressively to treat it, which Austin R. Lifferth, OD, FAAO, Diplomate (Glaucoma) AAO, helps us all understand in his article, “Stratifying Glaucoma Risk and Stage.”  Also in this issue, you’ll find an update on minimally invasive glaucoma surgery from Katherine Rachon, OD, FAAO, and Patricia Fulmer, OD, FAAO, rounds out the issue with a nice overview of what is current in glaucoma and what is to come.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Modern Optometry and that it inspires you to diagnose, manage, and treat glaucoma. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to us at modernOD@bmctoday.com.