Lasik Vision declares bankruptcy. Thank you Ernest Remo
TORONTO — A deal that seemed to hold great long-term potential for Icon Laser Eye Centers seems in danger of coming apart with the announcement in April that Icon subsidiary Lasik Vision had declared bankruptcy. Lasik Vision’s mismanagement and a doctor-led walkout are being blamed for the financial upheaval.
In late March, Lasik Vision’s employees were informed that the company was unable to meet its payroll obligations, and as a result operations at all Lasik Vision locations were suspended.
Icon board chairman Ernest Remo said that greater than anticipated operating liabilities at Lasik Vision, exacerbated by a work stoppage by Lasik Vision doctors, had necessitated the action. He said Icon plans to focus its resources on addressing the needs of Lasik Vision’s patients while continuing to offer Icon’s patients laser surgery care. He also attempted to comfort nervous stockholders by saying Icon is still operationally solid.
Icon is activating a call center dedicated to addressing the concerns of Lasik Vision patients.
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By
Erich Martin
By
Clair A. Enthoven, PhD
Source/Disclosures
January 03, 2022
2 min read
SAVE
Ecological momentary interventions may provide important behavior changes regarding myopia
Ecological momentary interventions have grown in popularity and offer individualized approaches to alter behavior in a medically meaningful way, according to a commentary in JAMA Ophthalmology.
Clair A. Enthoven, PhD, and colleagues propose that smartphone-based interventions may help interrupt the progression of myopia in children.
Title: Ecological momentary interventions (EMIs): Image: Smartphone • are treatments that are provided during everyday life and within an individual’s natural environment. • have been used more in fields of biology and behavioral sciences. • have the potential to extend the advice from the quarterly or semiannually checkup in the eye clinic to every single day of the child’s life.
Healio/OSN: Can you explain the concept of an ecological momentary intervention (EMI)?
Clair A. Enthoven
Enthoven: Ecological momentary interventions are treatments that are provided during everyday life and within an individual’s natural environment. It has been more often used in the field of psychology and behavioral sciences. It might be best explained by an example of a successful EMI: Young adults increased their fruit and vegetable intake after an EMI that consisted of two motivational, instructional and goal-oriented messages per day. In this way, the treatment was extended from the dietitian practice toward the natural environment and during everyday life.
Healio/OSN: How does smartphone integration help provide feedback encouraging positive behavior?
Enthoven: Ecological momentary interventions were previously provided using palmtop computers, which were inconvenient for the participant to carry around. Since the introduction of mobile phones, EMIs became increasingly popular. Almost everyone carries their smartphone all day. It is therefore a perfect medium to intervene with during daily life.
Healio/OSN: How can EMIs help to offset myopia progression?
Enthoven: Due to the measures to decrease COVID-19 infections such as social distancing, home confinement and online education, children tend to spend less time outdoors and more time on near work such as screen work. These changes in the lifestyles of children will increase their risk of becoming myopic or will increase their myopia progression.
Currently, lifestyle advice for myopic children is often provided by eye care providers during a regular checkup. We know that it is difficult to change someone’s lifestyle, and this may be even more difficult for children who might not fully understand the long-term consequences of myopia. EMIs have the potential to extend the advice from the quarterly or semiannually checkup in the eye clinic to every single day of the child’s life.
Healio/OSN: What is the next step for technology-based interventions to enforce positive behavior?
Enthoven: In a simple version of EMI, this could be an app that provides daily or even multiple times per day push notifications on a fixed time to encourage children or adolescents to go outdoors. When children are too young or do not have a smartphone yet, such a message could be sent to the parents. In more advanced/tailored versions of EMI, the number and content of the push notifications may differ between individuals. For example, and this is hypothetical because I do not think it already exists, by tracking screen time on multiple devices and/or measuring outdoor exposure continuously using lux meters, tailored notifications could be developed. After having a certain period of screen time, a push notification could be sent to remind them to stop using the screen. Or a message might say: “You’ve only been outdoors for 30 minutes today. Let’s go for a walk.” I honestly do not know the effect of such interventions, but I think it is worth exploring.
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