NECO hosts 2022 Industry Collaborative

Last week, members of ophthalmic industry came together in Boston to discuss the future of optometric education, called the Industry Collaborative.

The group first met in November 2019 at New England College of Optometry (NECO) in what was intended to be an annual meeting. The COVID-19 pandemic dictated a hiatus, and organizers intend the meeting to take place annually moving forward. This year, organizers offered a virtual viewing opportunity for interested parties while maintaining a group of in-person attendees.

The meeting kicked off Monday afternoon with a welcome by New England College of Optometry President and CEO Howard Purcell , OD, FAAO, and Gary Y. Chu , OD, MPH, FAAO, vice president of academic affairs, followed by a panel discussion on the future of refraction and a networking dinner.

The second day of the meeting began Tuesday morning with a discussion of NECO’s hybrid optometry degree and tuition reimbursement program led by Dr. Purcell. Next, Erik Weissberg , OD, FAAO, vice president and dean of academic affairs, moderated a student panel. Closing out the meeting was an industry panel moderated by Dr. Purcell and Marc Ferrara , president of Jobson Optical Group .

Rethinking refraction

Technological change has been a constant and changed the way everyone lives, works, and plays. The pandemic has sped up the way ODs deliver care. This debate, planned to be the first of many, provided varied perspectives from inside and outside the profession to engage attendees and challenge individual perspectives.

The refraction discussion dove into how new technologies may or may not aid ODs in delivering refractive care to their patients locally and globally.

Panelists included:

? Howard S. Fried, O.D. ; president and founder, DigitalOptometrics

? Shivang Dave , PhD; CEO and cofounder, PlenOptika

? Steven Lee , OD, MBA; CEO, VisionPros (a CloudMD company)

? Terri Gossard , OD, MS; Trustee, American Optometric Association (AOA)

? Joseph Kvedar , MD; Immediate past chair of the Board of the American Telemedicine Association , editor in chief of npj Medicine, and vice president, Partners Health Care

Kvedar used the fate of taxicabs and the rise of ride share companies such as Lyft and Uber as an example for optometry not to follow.

“You can build a barrier around you, or you can delight your customers so much that they buy more from you,” he said.

The concept of “virtual first” for primary care was discussed—using technology for refraction can fit into this bucket. Pharmacy giant CVS Health has launched such a program, set to debut in January 2023, and Amazon will continue in the space despite its planned cessation of services in December 2022.

Care following the virtual-first concept costs less and may deliver more efficient care.

“Amazon will likely put a lot of primary-care practitioners out of business because they pay a lot of attention to the customer,” Kvedar said.

However, Gossard pointed out that the AOA believes a comprehensive exam should be performed in person; a remote eye exam does not meet current standards.

Fried said his company’s option flips the concept of a remote exam: the patient comes to the office, but the OD is remote. He said Digital Optometrics does not aim to replace in-person care.

Lee said that the term “online refraction” is a misnomer and suggests using “estimation of visual perception” instead.

Dave commented that technology helps to improve access to care. He cited examples of the blood pressure cuff and glucose meter which were originally designed only for medical professional use but now expand access to care via home use.

He also said that doctors are transforming from data takers to data interpreters and clinical decision makers.

As a cofounder of a vision technology company, he said that eye care as a whole is a “wait and see” profession and doesn’t partner with technology companies.

“Innovators are forced to take investors outside of eye care. Eye care should build partnerships with technology companies,” he said.

Student panel

Optometry students are the future of the profession. This panel Q&A provided attendees with students’ perspectives about life as an optometry student, their goals and aspirations, and how the pandemic has affected them over the past few years.

Panelists included:

? Greta Pucci, Fourth year

? Sara Masood, OD, MSc , Third year

? Matthew Beaulieu , Third year

? Jnanendra “Jay” Vegesna, Accelerated OD Program

? Emely Mini?o Soto , Second year

Industry panel

Industry panelists offered attendees the opportunity to see the evolution of thinking from various sections of the industry.

Panelists included:

? Charissa Lee, OD, MBA, FAAO ; head of North American professional affairs, Johnson & Johnson Vision

? Steve Rosinski, OD , senior manager, professional and academic affairs, CooperVision

? Pratil Lal B.Optom, OD, MBA ; senior director, medical and professional affairs, Warby Parker

? Jill Saxon, OD, FAAO ; executive director, professional strategy, 博士伦

? Vernon Dela Cruz ; university and student relations manager, VSP Vision Care

? Christopher Lee, MS, MBA ; medical science liaison, Topcon Healthcare