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May 22, 2019

Essilor’s Partnership with Royal Government of Bhutan Achieves Milestone

Essilor and the Royal Government of Bhutan officially launched their partnership to make Bhutan the first country in the world to eradicate poor vision with a monumental milestone – the delivery of 10,000 pairs of eyeglasses for use in its Bhutan School Sight program. To mark the occasion, Her Majesty Ashi Kesang Choeden Wangchuck, Queen Mother of His Majesty The Fourth Druk Gyalpo, who made possible the partnership with her patronage, presented eyeglasses to citizens in a launch ceremony.

Organized by the Ministry of Health, the Bhutan School Sight program which offers free vision screening for all students aged six to eighteen and equips those in need with free glasses, is underway and will be completed by October. The adult screening program will begin in 2020.

As part of the partnership, starting from the last quarter of 2019, nearly 200 health assistants will be trained to conduct basic visual acuity tests, distribute simple reading glasses and direct patients with vision correction needs to eye health practitioners. These health assistants will be able to conduct vision screenings for the residents in their communities.

In December 2018, as reported on Optik NOW, Essilor signed Letters of Intent with the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Central Monastic Body to sustainably strengthen the country’s vision care infrastructure and eradicate unprotected and uncorrected poor vision from its population. Today, 25% of those in Bhutan suffer from uncorrected poor vision, and a large portion is at risk of exposure to UVA/UVB rays due to high altitudes. Together, the partners will address the two greatest barriers to good vision – access and awareness – through training and capacity building, philanthropic support and raising awareness.

Chairman of Essilor, Hubert Sagnières, said: “Good vision transforms more than just a person’s health and wellbeing – it reduces inequalities and positively impacts the daily lives of individuals, their families and their communities through their ability to learn, work and be safe.” Sagnières continued; “We are pleased with the progress of our journey together so far and look forward to many more milestones.”

Her Excellency the Health Minister of Bhutan, Lyonpo Dechen Wangmo mentioned, “We hope that through this partnership, the prevalence of poor vision is significantly reduced, that every Bhutanese who requires refractive error correction has access to eyeglasses.”

The partnership sees Essilor donating 400,000 pairs of corrective eyewear and sunglasses, dispensed via existing healthcare programs.

Click HERE for the full press release.

May 21, 2019May 20, 2026

Fitson Eyewear’s Spring 2019 Collection

Gone are the days where your customer needs to sacrifice style or quality when searching for high-fashion eyewear. Designed in Montreal, Fitson along with its partner brand Code ™ offers eyewear that is the perfect mix of style, function and affordability. Model 5008’s angular shape is the perfect “on trend” accessory—at the perfect price!

Distributed by COS: https://canadianoptical.com/

May 21, 2019May 21, 2019

Nikon Launches RelaxSee Neo Series

Nikon launches the RelaxSee Neo Series; a therapeutic lens with a variable accommodative support that relieves eye fatigue related to exposure time in near vision.

With RelaxSee Neo Series you can choose the accommodation support for your patient that offers the best visual experience, as such 0.75D, 1.00D, 1.25D. The lens is customizable and available in a wide range of materials and options (Clear, Transitions and Polarized).

When RelaxSee Neo Series is used along with SeeCoat Blue Premium, patients get better contrast and optimal eye strain protection.

Click HERE for the full press release.

May 20, 2019May 14, 2019

Virtual Consults Now Available with Leading Private Insurer Manulife

Canada’s largest private health insurance provider, Manulife Financial and California-based digital health care provider, Akira Health, announced a partnership to provide Canadians with on-demand, virtual 24-7 anywhere anytime medical consultations with clinicians. Services are available in both English and French.

The Akira app builds upon services offered both in the public healthcare system and through an individual’s health benefits plan. In addition to providing general health counselling, Akira clinicians can diagnose, write and renew prescriptions, and provide referrals to specialists, labs, and imaging centres.

The Canadian website cites “eye problems” as being within the scope of services.

When asked about online refraction, an Akira spokesperson indicated, “unfortunately, we can’t do refraction through the app, as that’s a test that can’t be done virtually”, implying that if online refraction were available it might be added to the solution.

The Akira primary care team is made up mostly of Nurse Practitioners and Registered Nurses, as well as some MDs. The team does not include optometrists, according to the company.

“Virtual healthcare is growing at a fast pace in Canada and will soon be the new standard for employers,” said Dan Pawliw, co-founder of Akira. “We have worked hard to develop this solution and are proud to provide the highest level of service in the virtual healthcare space.”

The new service is consistent with Manulife’s mission to make lives better and decisions easier for Canadians according to Donna Carbell, Head of Group Benefits for Manulife Canada.

For the full Press Release click HERE.

May 16, 2019

The Vision Council Introduces New Summit Series

The Vision Council introduces their new Summit Series for 2019, facilitated by Bart Foster, strategic advisor to The Vision Council. This series of exclusive events will help feed the growing desire to better the optical industry and individuals’ careers through targeted events. The Vision Council sees these summits as key to moving the industry forward by providing environments for learning, mentoring and networking.

The series events are as follows:

Fast-Track Leadership Summit (April 24–25) – Designed to inspire, motivate and educate future industry leaders, by providing critical tools and techniques to ensure a productive professional career.
Optical Innovation Summit (June 5–6) – Focused on interactive, hands-on ideation, where industry leaders will discuss and debate the inevitable changes affecting optical retail.
Marketing Insights Summit (Oct. 15–16) – A two-day hands-on session targeting marketing executives in the vision care industry focusing on marketing insights, customer experience, and industry trends.
Executive Leadership Summit in partnership with the Aspen Institute (November) – Intended for motivated leaders looking to build upon their skill set for personal and professional development to positively impact and inspire their teams.

The Vision Council aims to harness the energy and passion produced during the annual Executive Summit and develop it into exclusive and unique events offered throughout the year. These events will culminate with the 2020 Executive Summit, which will see an improved structure with the goal of giving participants a more enjoyable and valuable experience and leave with a strong directive for the year ahead.

“We’re so excited to see these events come to fruition throughout the year,” said Ashley Mills, CEO of The Vision Council. “It’s encouraging to see the need and want for these types of gatherings, and as the leading industry trade association, The Vision Council invites the responsibility to facilitate these conversations. We know that change is happening quickly, so we designed these events to help us harness the insights of those leading the transformation and identify opportunity for growth. We invite the leaders of this change to join us and help us craft, together, the future of the industry.”

For more information, visit thevisioncouncil.org/summitseries.

Source: The Vision Council