Eye Care Embedded in New WHO Neonatal Care Guidelines

The ICO shares the recent launch of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global guidelines to support women and newborns in the postnatal period.

For the first time ever, eye care has been embedded in neonatal care guidelines, demonstrating the importance of access to high-quality vision care in the healthy development of babies.
 
The ICO is in Official Relation status with the WHO. We encourage all ICO Member Societies to share these new guidelines with their networks.

The April 2022 CJO is now available online. Here are some of the highlights: 

Resident Perspectives + visual abstract: Our amazing team of residents have summarized 7 articles with a focus on what’s most relevant to ophthalmology learners here in Canada and around the globe, including the article featured in our April visual abstract, Frozen versus fresh corneal graft carriers in Boston keratoprosthesis surgery: 10-year outcomes.

Original research articles:

• SD-OCT assessment of macular and optic nerve alterations in patients recovered from COVID-19
• Sunlamp use is a risk factor for uveal melanoma: a meta-analysis
• Ocular manifestations of disseminated Mycobacterium chimaera infection after cardiothoracic surgery
• Evaluation of dry eye disease in children with blepharokeratoconjunctivitis
• Reversible HER2 antibody-drug conjugate–induced ocular toxicity

Research letters and case reports:

• Features and management of strabismus from skull base chordoma [research letter]
• Clinical course and poor prognostic factors of Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease in a tertiary uveitis clinic [research letter]
• Making the most of what you have: improving patient and provider experiences at an eye clinic through interior design [case report]
• Building better education after COVID-19: the 2021 Canadian ophthalmology residency match [case report]
• Detection of Alcaligenes chronic endophthalmitis mimicking noninfectious uveitis with 16S ribosomal RNA PCR [case report]

Follow the CJO on social media:

Twitter: @CanJOphth

Instagram: @cjo_jco

Facebook: CanJOphth

An article, entitled Re-visioning by Carol Yaple, which was included in the CMAJ, Vol. 194, Issue 97 Mar 2022

“On Dec. 1, 2011, I received a diagnosis of Stargardt disease, an inherited retinal disorder that affects central vision. Genetic testing showed that my mother carried the mutation, and my father contributed a common variant. One in 10 000 are afflicted with this rare condition, which often presents in childhood.”

Read the Full Article here:

How do quality improvement activities relate to CPD offerings?

Read the full Royal College Maintenance of Certification (MOC) guideline on how to identify areas for quality improvement using MOC Section 3

Expanding Learning QI Implementation

Aligned with calls to integrate quality improvement (QI) and physician life-long learning, the Royal College is collaborating with partners and stakeholders across the health care system to evolve its Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program. In small, practical increments, this renewed CPD strategy aims to be more relevant, improvement-focused, and user-friendly, enabling physicians to achieve care outcomes and/or continued personal-professional growth important to them and their patients.

Although these collective goals are clear, some specialists may be unfamiliar with QI principles and thus have difficulty connecting them to important improvement work they already do. Others might be challenged with identifying how to apply QI towards a specific personal development goal, professional practice role (e.g. clinician, educator, administrator), or transitioning stage of their career.

The following guidance aims to address these issues and provides:

• An introduction to understanding Quality Improvement (QI) science
• Tools, resources, and illustrative examples to help make connections between QI and existing professional practice.
• Help to start planning, implementing, and reporting new QI initiatives in current professional practice.
• Direction on claiming QI activities in the MOC program Section 3: Assessment activities (3 credits per hour).

For information on QI implementation visit the Royal College’s website.

Articles

Patients’ complaints involving ophthalmologists in the province of Ontario, Canada: a 5-year review (June 2020) – Published in the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology (CJO)

Review of Ophthalmology Medical Professional Liability Claims in the United States from 2006 through 2015 (May 2018) – Published in Ophthalmology

Doctors’ experiences and their perception of the most stressful aspects of complaints processes in the UK: an analysis of qualitative survey data (July 2016) – Published in the BMJ

The impact of complaints procedures on the welfare, health and clinical practise of 7926 doctors in the UK: a cross-sectional survey (January 2015) – Published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ)

CMPA Articles

What to do if you’re notified of a College complaint (March 2018) – For many physicians, a regulatory authority (College) complaint is stressful, but can be managed by speaking with the CMPA, assessing the complaint, and responding professionally and respectfully.

Coping with a College complaint: Suggestions for reducing anxiety (April 2012) – Dealing with the stress of a College complaint is easier when a physician understands the complaint process and receives support, advice, and coping strategies from the CMPA.

Seva Canada is a charity whose mission is to restore sight and prevent blindness in developing countries. Their new Gender and Blindness booklet is updated with research and strategies to overcome the barriers women and girls face in accessing care.

Introduction

Seva Canada and its partners’ research clearly reveals that, in order to achieve our Vision 2020 goals , eye care programs must develop strategies which help us reach the most vulnerable populations – particularly women and girls. We encourage our program partners to disaggregate data by sex, determine gender-specific barriers to increased uptake of services, and study strategies to increase utilization by women and girls. Seva looks forward to collaborating with all international eye care providers to eliminate all forms of inequities in eye care.

To view the Seva Canada booklet Gender and Blindness: Addressing Inequity, click here.