5:00 - 7:30 PM
117 - Step Up — Training for Office Leaders
Laurie Guest, CSP
Sharon Carter
AOA Approved Only
This class is in response to the many requests for more in-depth training for leaders of optometric offices. Hosted in a private, warm environment, this session will be unlike any other you’ve attended at a conference! Enrollment is limited to the first 20 and the content will be developed based on the specific needs of the group. Topics will likely include: Improving staff relations through communication, discipline, and motivation; increasing profits through creative marketing, proper pricing and cost-cutting campaigns; and enhancing customer service through customized training programs and scripting for success.
Click here to listen to Sharon Carter discuss Course #117.
Click here to listen to Laurie Guest discuss Course #117.

6:45 - 7:45 AM

Food for Thought Breakfast Series
F1 - Course Title TBD
Speaker TBD
Course Description TBD Sponsored by Vistakon, Vision Care Institute LLC

8:00 - 9:40 AM
213 - How to Be a Better Contact Lens Technician
Phyllis L. Rakow, COMT, NCLE-AC, FCLSA(H)
NCLE Approved/Basic
This course will enable the contact lens technician to provide maximum assistance to the eye care practitioner at the patient’s initial contact lens fitting and at follow-up visits. Included are: Saving chair time for the practitioner; scheduling CL patients; taking a contact lens history; handling contact lens emergencies; applying the principles of triage to contact lens emergencies; taking the follow-up history; educating the contact lens patient; dealing with the non-English-speaking patients; minimizing lens-induced complications through planned replacement programs; collecting and developing educational and instructional materials; developing recall programs and service agreements; practice-building ideas such as getting school referrals, newsletters bulletin boards and point-of-service brochures and promoting the practice through the local media; and inventory fitting.
Click here to listen to Phyllis Rakow discuss Course #213.

214 - Six Ways to Build a Team that Rocks!
Laurie Guest, CSP
Sharon Carter
AOA Approved Only
This NEW class is in response to the many attendees who requested that Laurie and Sharon tag-team again. This fast-paced, energetic program is designed to teach six concrete actions that will build a more successful optometric team. Join two nationally-known experts in staff education as they share the secrets they have learned from years on the road.
Click here to listen to Sharon Carter discuss Course #214.
Click here to listen to Laurie Guest discuss Course #214.

10:00 - 10:50 AM
215 - Triage in a Contact Lens Practice
Phyllis L. Rakow, COMT, NCLE-AC, FCLSA(H)
NCLE Approved/Basic
Triage is a term used to describe the process of sorting the sick and wounded based on the seriousness of their condition and the urgency of care needed. The principles of triage can be applied to contact lens emergencies: What constitutes a true emergency? Which “emergencies” are urgent and must be given immediate appointments? Which symptoms are serious and require priority scheduling, and which patient symptoms are not sight threatening and can be given routine appointments? Signs and symptoms of ocular emergencies, including problems that may mimic contact lens-related pathology, will be discussed and illustrated with slides. This course is valuable not only for contact lens technicians, but also for front desk personnel who handle telephone and walk-in emergencies and must decide on how to schedule them.
Click here to listen to Phyllis Rakow discuss Course #215.

216 - Building Phenomenal Phone Skills
Sharon Carter
ABO Approved/Basic
Everyone has heard “First impressions are lasting impressions.” Nowhere is this more important than in the business world! Learn how to be professional, thorough, and start out ahead of the game. Create a positive, lasting impression that will have your existing or prospective patients eagerly anticipating a visit to your office after a call to your front desk.
Click here to listen to Sharon Carter discuss Course #216.

11:00 - 11:50 AM
217 - Doctor Can You Hear Me?
Laurie Guest, CSP
AOA Approved Only
Solid communication in the office is critical to long-term success. In this session Laurie teaches the secret behind connecting with the doctor by thoughts, actions and words. Attendees will leave with an action plan to improve their current rapport with any type of doctor.
Click here to listen to Laurie Guest discuss Course #217.

218 - The Aging Eye: Basic Principles of Geriatric Care
Phyllis L. Rakow, COMT, NCLE-AC, FCLSA(H)
ABO & NCLE Approved/Intermediate
The average life expectancy in the United States has increased from 47 years in 1900 to over 76 years today. Between 2010 and 2030, aging baby boomers are expected to swell the older population in the U.S. by 75%, from 40 million to 70 million, while the population under age 65 will increase by only 6.5%. This lecture will provide an overview of geriatric eye care, touching on the causes, clinical features, and management of the most common or important eye conditions and discuss how these conditions affect acuity and comfort with contact lenses, as well as the visual expectations of patients toward their new spectacle correction.
Click here to listen to Phyllis Rakow discuss Course #218.

12:00 - 3:30 PM
Exhibit Hall Open

1:00 - 1:50 PM
207 - Overcoming the Barrier of Finances for Practicing Low Vision
Rebecca Kammer, OD, FAAO
AOA Approved Only
This one-hour seminar will present a newer model of low vision rehabilitation which includes occupational therapy (OT). The coding and billing process for both OT and OD will be reviewed. The presentation will also include strategies for capturing device and video magnifier revenue.
Click here to listen to Dr. Kammer discuss Course #207.

3:30 - 5:10 PM
219- Contact Lens Solution: Sorting Out The Confusion
Phyllis L. Rakow, COMT, NCLE-AC, FCLSA(H)
NCLE Approved/Basic
Over 200 national brand and generic contact lens solutions are on the market. Few practitioners or patients have an in-depth understanding of the preservatives and active ingredients in these solutions and what reactions or interactions can occur if incompatible solutions are used. This course will discuss FDA lens groups and how lenses in each group are affected by the chemicals in care products. Advantages and disadvantages of each major care system will be discussed, with emphasis on the unique requirements of silicone hydrogel lenses and the changes that have taken place in cold disinfection systems. Slides will be used to illustrate ocular pathology caused by improper use of contact lens solutions.
Click here to listen to Phyllis Rakow discuss Course #219.

6:00 - 7:30 PM
California Dreamin' Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall

6:45 - 7:45 AM
Food for Thought Breakfast Series
F2 - Are We There Yet? An Update on Silicone Hydrogel Multifocal Lenses
Maurice J. Wilson, OD
AOA Approved Only
The “baby-boomers” have reached middle age with “Gen X” not far behind, providing a huge opportunity, and challenge, for contact lens practitioners. This course will review the latest research on presbyopic soft lens correction as well as new developments in silicone hydrogel multifocal lenses, and provide pearls for maximizing success with these novel new lenses.
Sponsored by CIBA Vision

8:00 - 9:40 AM
301 - Rigid Gas Permeable Lenses Correction
Clarke Newman, OD, FAAO
ABO Approved Only
After attending this course, doctors should have an increased understanding of the various methods of correcting astigmatism with spherical, aspherical and Toric RGP Lenses.

302 - Case Management of AMD in Low Vision Rehabilitation
Rebecca Kammer, OD, FAAO
ABO Approved Only
This session will provide a roadmap to low vision rehabilitation for AMD patients in various stages of the disease. The lecture will utilize video clips and test results in an interactive and energized case management format. A two-stage model of low vision rehabilitation will be introduced as a strategy for success.
Click here to listen to Dr. Kammer discuss Course #302.

313 - Getting a Handle on Coding
Sharon Carter
ABO Approved Only
Working and not getting paid for your effort is frustrating. Worse than that, working, getting paid, but having to give it back or becoming the target of an investigation is frightening. In this class, you will learn in detail the four criteria that will determine the level of service to bill for and prevent the above unpleasantries from occurring. Better yet, you will learn the proper coding that will allow billing to the fullest extent permissible.
Click here to listen to Sharon Carter discuss Course #313.

10:00 - 10:50 AM
305 - Driving DMV and Low Vision
Rebecca Kammer, OD, FAAO
AOA Approved Only
A three-part presentation including a review of bioptics, tips on completing the DL-62 DMV form, and case examples highlighting dilemmas and decision making processes.
Click here to listen to Dr. Kammer discuss Course #305.

306 - How Often Are Spectacles Prescribed to “Normal” Children?
Raymond H. Chu, OD, MS, FAAO
ABO Approved Only
When differences arise in prescribing philosophies, what does the literature tell us? This course serves to distinguish between fact and differences of opinion on managing our hyperopic pediatric population.
Click here to listen to Dr. Raymond Chu discuss Course #306.

314 - Patient Satisfaction vs. Patient Loyalty Sharon Carter
ABO Approved/Basic
Has your practice invested money to attract new patients only to have them go somewhere else after one or two visits? Was a difference in price the chief attractor that brought them to your practice only to have them find a “better deal” down the street later? Do you advertise “Satisfaction Guaranteed”? In this course you will learn that there is a distinct difference between satisfaction and loyalty; “satisfaction can be shopped” but “loyalty can be created.” Learn what you can do to “WOW” your patients, keep them coming back, and set your practice apart from your competition.
Click here to listen to Sharon Carter discuss Course #314.