I have seen the soft contact lens market accelerate in exciting ways over the past 20 years. Companies are trying to stay ahead of what patients want and for the most part, they have been doing an excellent job. Soft contact lenses that have out-performed their usefulness have been discontinued. Companies are changing their names such as Ciba Vision, now Alcon, and Vistakon, … [Read more...]
Endless Night: The Trouble with ‘Big T’
IT was a warm and sunny afternoon. I sat behind my desk, taking a long draw on a freshly-filled electronic cigarette. There wasn't much going on today – hardly a customer all week, come to think of it. I was a loner, an independent. I played by my own rules, and sometimes that kept clients away. I looked up as the door chime jingled – and there she was... Out of all the … [Read more...]
What Causes Color Blindness?
Did you know that color blindness is pretty common? While it affects only a small percentage of women, it affects about one in twelve men. A genetic mutation causes most cases of color blindness. Acquired color vision loss can be caused by eye diseases like macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, and diseases that affect the optic nerve. Genetic color blindness can’t be … [Read more...]
Birefringence: Rainbow Rising
In the heat and the rain – that's where you typically expect to see rainbows. A nice spring day, a light shower, and a pot of gold hidden off in the distance. Not so much when it comes to your lenses. Anyone that's dealt with lenses long enough has experienced this before – an oil-slick like effect, or rainbow, in the lenses. As this is one of the few places in life where you … [Read more...]
Managing Success in a Practice Management World
Much has changed in the last few years in how a practice operates. Gone are the days of patients simply paying for services rendered and products purchased. Now the modern ECP must navigate a complex system of charts, categories, costs, rules, and limitations on services based on whatever provider a patient may have. For sure, the good ol’ days are gone. Or are they? … [Read more...]
The TAO of Color
the essence of color harmony principles Color theory is simply a way for us to understand and organize colors as a guide to using them in art and design. But what does that mean for you if you are not an artist or a designer? Can having a better understanding of colors, meanings, psychological impacts, lighting etc… really make a difference in your life? In your business? For … [Read more...]
The Feeling of Color
Our experience with color typically begins with a sensation that is an actual, physical event that stimulates us on a variety of levels. But are we always consciously aware of how color is stimulating us? In this article, we will take a quick peek at what is happening ‘behind the scenes’ in our minds and the effects that color can have on our mood and personality. Color … [Read more...]
The Big Color Theory
The Physics of Color. Did you ever have a patient, customer, friend or other, say something to the effect of “that doesn’t look like it did on my computer” or “this doesn’t look like it did in the catalog” when they buy something from online or get it home? How about when you print family pics that were taken with a smart phone or digital camera? What about when you went to … [Read more...]
Waiter! There’s some cylinder in my sphere!
NERD ALERT! (for all your super-duper techie stuff) One of the most frequent ‘problems’ that I hear about when talking about compensated lenses is when we’re dealing with spheres. All too frequent are exchanges like this: Doctor: I ordered this lens as a sphere, but there’s cylinder in it - it’s wrong! Lab: Yes, I understand you ordered it as a sphere, but the … [Read more...]
Breaking Bad… Habits
I'M NOT IN THE LENS BUSINESS, I'M IN THE EMPIRE BUSINESS You’re not the only game in town. People can get what you’re selling from any one of a number of dealers. They could head over to the guy on the corner just up the street. Heck, they could just order it online - direct from Mexico, or maybe somewhere in Asia, and have it in a few days for a fraction of the price of … [Read more...]