In March 2020, the Florida Senate passed a resolution making August in Florida Amblyopia Awareness Month. The goal of this month is to provide resources for parents and guardians about early vision screenings for their children, as well as bring attention to a vision issue than can be prevented if caught early enough.
Tallahassee, Fla. (August 3, 2020) – In March 2020, the Florida Senate passed a resolution recognizing August in Florida as Amblyopia Awareness Month, thanks to the efforts of the Florida Society of Ophthalmology (FSO) and their charitable arm the For Eye Care Foundation (FECF). Amblyopia, more commonly recognized as “lazy eye,” often occurs when vision in one eye doesn’t develop properly, making it weaker than the other. It is the most common cause of permanent vision loss in children but, if caught early enough, can be prevented and treated.
New information and resources regarding COVID-19 are occurring daily. As the Florida Society of Ophthalmology gathers this information that we feel to be important for the general education and knowledge of its members, we will send out weekly emails and updating our website. The information compiled should not be used as the sole source of information when analyzing and resolving legal or other issues that pertain to one’s medical practice or personal situation because the laws of each jurisdiction differ and are constantly changing. If you have specific questions regarding a situation, we urge you to consult competent legal counsel.
The Florida Society of Ophthalmology (FSO) nominating committee met on Wednesday, July 22, 2020 and was chaired by the president, Darby Miller, MD, MPH. The nominating committee recommends the slate below for the 2020-2021 term. The membership will vote on this slate during the Annual Business Meeting.
Crosswalks between ICD-9 lists of covered diagnoses for certain services and the comparable ICD-10 diagnoses were imperfect in some LCDs, such as the Visual Field Testing LCD. First Coast Service Options was made aware of this problem and corrected the disparities with assistance provided by the FSO Third Party Liaison Committee.
At the FSO Board of Directors meeting held this past June, the Board adopted the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s position on the use of medicinal marijuana for the treatment of glaucoma.
There has been a recent change in the Florida law regarding co-management of patients. The new law took effect on July 1, 2013. The Florida Society of Ophthalmology (FSO) and its general counsel have worked closely with OMIC to develop two sample forms to aid you in compliance with the new law.
The AmazonSmile Foundation and the For Eye Care Foundation
Please consider the For Eye Care Foundation (FECF), the Florida Society of Ophthalmology's charitable-arm, when shopping online at Amazon. The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from eligible purchases made back to the FECF. The purchase price is the amount paid for the item minus any rebates and excluding shipping & handling, gift-wrapping fees, taxes, or service charges. Use this link to start shopping and giving back: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/59-3051564.
Because Florida law currently fails to describe the recognized risks of cataract surgery, a substantial number of "recognized risks" associated with cataract surgery continue to be improperly reported to regulators as "Code 15" adverse incidents.
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