Eyeworld

JUL 2013

EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.

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July 2013 Alcon, AARP partner for cataract consumer awareness campaign www.AcrySofIQTORIC.com by Erin L. Boyle EyeWorld Senior Staff Writer The unbranded website provides an overview of cataracts, symptoms of cataracts, how cataracts impact patients, treatment options, and patients' next steps. Company and organization are seeking to reach AARP's target audience with information about cataract surgery A lcon (Fort Worth, Texas) and AARP (Washington, D.C.) are collaborating in a national U.S. campaign to raise awareness about cataracts and cataract surgery in people aged 65 and older. The program, which will be launched soon, will help educate patients about surgical options and the advanced technology involved in cataract surgery. According to a representative from Alcon, advertising and marketing for the campaign aims to emphasize the multiple benefits for patients who undergo cataract surgery, including the possibility of reducing their dependence on glasses. Alcon collaborated with the AARP on a vision survey focusing on consumer education needs in cataract surgery, which will be featured in the August/September issue of AARP The Magazine, said Julie Speed, Alcon marketing director, Intraocular Lenses & Consumer Engagement. Campaign reach The campaign will run through print and digital advertising, targeting the 65 years and older Baby Boomer population. The campaign advertising, along with patient education materials, will direct patients to one of two websites to learn more about cataract surgery and their options to reduce their dependence on glasses. These two websites, an unbranded site (www.cataractawareness.com) and a branded site (www.cataractsurgery.com), will offer patients a place to seek more information about cataracts and cataract surgery. These will also serve as sites for eyecare professionals to recommend to their patients so they can find additional answers to their cataract-related questions. The unbranded site provides an overview of cataracts, symptoms of cataracts, how cataracts impact patients, treatment options, and patients' next steps. The branded site features similar information, as well as an overview on specific Alcon advanced technology products. The websites offer patient testimonials and a short video of patients sharing their experiences with cataracts prior to surgery, including not being able to see at a distance, play bridge, or read. Patients also discuss difficulty driving and having a darker view of the world because of impaired vision. Patients were then interviewed after surgery. They describe how their cataract surgery was quick and easy, and how their vision has significantly improved. One patient shares that her vision is beautiful, and that she can see more details without spectacles. Another says that she is looking forward to playing bridge and reading again. One patient describes her surgery as causing "a world of difference" and that it was something she should have done "a long time ago." That patient begins the video wearing glasses, telling viewers that she may be spectacle independent after toric IOL implantation; at the end of the video following her surgery, she appears without her glasses. In addition, patient education materials are available for patients in both the ophthalmologist and optometrist office. "These materials are extremely helpful to diagnosed cataract patients, helping the patients learn more about the procedure, questions to ask the surgeon, and advanced technology options to reduce their dependence on glasses," Ms. Speed said. Campaign goals The campaign is seeking to give patients access to information on all options for cataract treatment and education about the possibilities related to their choices. It will help inform patients, but ultimately, cataract patients and their physicians must decide when cataract surgery is right for them and which advanced technologies make most sense, given their lifestyle needs and pathology, Ms. Speed said. "We believe this campaign will highlight the critical importance of patient education when it comes to the cataract surgical procedure and advanced technology options to reduce their dependence on glasses," she said. "This is the basis for our consumer awareness program, as we believe an informed patient is an empowered patient." EW Editors' note: Ms. Speed is an employee of Alcon. CAUTION: Federal (USA) law restricts this device to the sale by or on the order of a physician. INDICATIONS: The AcrySof® IQ Toric posterior chamber intraocular lenses are intended for primary implantation in the capsular bag of the eye for visual correction of aphakia and pre-existing corneal astigmatism secondary to removal of a cataractous lens in adult patients with or without presbyopia, who desire improved uncorrected distance vision, reduction of residual refractive cylinder and increased spectacle independence for distance vision. WARNING/PRECAUTION: Careful preoperative evaluation and sound clinical judgment should be used by the surgeon to decide the risk/benefit ratio before implanting a lens in a patient with any of the conditions described in the Directions for Use labeling. Toric IOLs should not be implanted if the posterior capsule is ruptured, if the zonules are damaged, or if a primary posterior capsulotomy is planned. Rotation can reduce astigmatic correction; if necessary lens repositioning should occur as early as possible prior to lens encapsulation. All viscoelastics should be removed from both the anterior and posterior sides of the lens; residual viscoelastics may allow the lens to rotate. Optical theory suggests that high astigmatic patients (i.e. > 2.5 D) may experience spatial distortions. Possible toric IOL related factors may include residual cylindrical error or axis misalignments. Prior to surgery, physicians should provide prospective patients with a copy of the Patient Information Brochure available from Alcon for this product informing them of possible risks and benefits associated with the AcrySof® IQ Toric Cylinder Power IOLs. Studies have shown that color vision discrimination is not adversely affected in individuals with the AcrySof® Natural IOL and normal color vision. The effect on vision of the AcrySof® Natural IOL in subjects with hereditary color vision defects and acquired color vision defects secondary to ocular disease (e.g., glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, chronic uveitis, and other retinal or optic nerve diseases) has not been studied. Do not resterilize; do not store over 45° C; use only sterile irrigating solutions such as BSS® or BSS PLUS® Sterile Intraocular Irrigating Solutions. ATTENTION: Reference the Directions for Use labeling for a complete listing of indications, warnings and precautions. Contact information Speed: julie.speed@alcon.com © 2013 Novartis 2/13 TOR13020JAD

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