The Optometrist’s Ultimate Internet Guide

These 78 Internet sites will help you find the hard-to-find about the professions, research and clinical science.

Nick Mathe
Folsom, Calif.

There are more than 20,000 Internet sites today that relate to optometry and eye care, and even this may not be an accurate count. Search engines, after all, are said to only show about one-third of the available web sites. The World Wide Web has become a virtual community where you and your colleagues—and your patients and other providers, too—trade information and pearls, access research, educate the public about their practices and even order supplies and submit claims.

To get some perspective on this electronic universe, consider that in the past year alone you and your colleagues have been getting on the Internet at a record pace. Since VSP unveiled its Internet Doctor Communication claims-processing system in 1997, more than 6,000 practices signed up. That’s in addition to the practices that had already been there. The latest Review of Optometry National Panel survey shows that X out of every X optometrist has Internet access (see "headline goes here," on page XX).

With all this e-commerce and e-information, how do you, as one single, lonely optometrist navigate the web to actually get useful information out of it? Here’s a guide to what’s out there on the World Wide Web. (You can also access this information on Review of Optometry OnLine at http://www.revoptom.com.)

A word of note: This guide is separated into several categories—organizations, academic sites, resources and. No doubt I’ve missed a few sites that you may feel warrant placement here. If so, contact the magazine at reviewofoptometry@jobson.com, and we’ll attempt to get them updated.

Have fun surfing!

American Academy of Optometry

http://www.aaopt.org

Information on member services, meetings and news. Offers 1998 and 1997 AAO scientific program databases online and allows you to register for the annual event.

American Optometric Association

http://www.aoanet.org

Excellent site, offers patient information on common eye conditions, a kids' section, membership news and information on career opportunities in optometry. It also links to all state association sites.

American Optometric Student Association

http://home.earthlink.net/~aosa/default.cfml

The AOSA represents more than 5,600 student members at the 19 schools and colleges of optometry in North America. Includes e-mail links to AOSA board and information about the association’s annual meeting.

Brazilian Optometry Association (ABPOO)

http://www.brnet.com.br/pages/saveiga/abpoo.htm

Information about the association, its annual meeting and optometric practice in Brazil—in Portuguese.

Canadian Association of Optometrists

http://www.opto.ca/default.cfml

Includes English and French pages. Offers information for public and doctors.

Future Optometrists

http://www.futureoptometrist.com/

Designed by Indiana University College of Optometry student Laura K. Windsor to act as a resources to optometry students.

Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO)

http://home.opted.org/asco/

Has information about optometric schools in North America, including a directory of faculty and links to information about residency programs.

Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE)

http://www.copeopt.org/

Check on whether or not your CE is COPE approved. Maintained by the International Association of Boards of Optometry.

American Academy of Ophthalmology:

http://www.eyenet.org

Includes searchable version of annual meeting program, news, PrimeSight updates, placement service and news and information for public.

American Academy of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS): 

http://med-aapos.bu.edu/

Lists members alphabetically and by region and offers papers and posters from 1998 meeting. With access code, users can view or download slide images, publishes The Journal of AAPOS

American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS)

And American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA),

http://www.ascrs.org

Abstracts and table of contents for their journals, information on meetings and comprehensive information about 1999 Medicare fee schedules.

Association for Research and Vision in Ophthalmology (ARVO):

http://www.faseb.org/arvo

Includes directory of members and abstracts of papers from past two meetings, as well as links to other ophthalmology sites.

Contact Lens Council

http://www.iglobal.com/clc

Site for contact lens wearers offers fact sheets on proper lens wear and care, presbyopia and refractive surgery. Users can also submit their e-mail questions to providers and CLC staff.

Contact Lens Manufacturers Association

http://www.contact.inter.net/

This organization representing contact lens laboratories offers information about RGPs for practitioners and patients.

Contact Lens Society of America

http://www.onlinenet.com/clsa/

Includes information for both doctors and patients, including a search function that finds contact lens practitioners by geographic region.

Polycarbonate Lens Council

http://www.polycarb.org

Information on polycarbonate lenses for professionals, consumers and educators, including white papers for those who dispense or process polycarbonate lenses.

Vision Council of America/BVI

http://www.visionsite.org/

Information for consumers, professionals and VICA members. Site includes a directory of members.

Glaucoma Research Foundation

http://www.glaucoma.org

Patient information on the latest glaucoma news and research with on-line version of the non-profit organization's quarterly newsletter.

Hawaii Lions Eye Bank

http://www.eyebank.org

Patient material on transplant procedures, who is a candidate for surgery and conditions that lead to the need for transplants.

International Society of Ocular Toxicology

http://www.columbia.edu/~bvw1/isot/

Information on research and training. Includes member directory.

International Society for Refractive Surgery

http://www.isrs.org

Information for doctors and public on refractive surgery with a "locate a doctor" area. 

MedWeb

http://www.medweb.emory.edu/MedWeb/

A service of the Robert M. Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library at Atlanta’s Emory University. Includes keyword search function.

National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research

Organization advocates research through the National Eye Institute.

Partnership in Vision

http://www.piv.org/

Multidisciplinary group of providers provides education to providers and AIDS patients about the ocular manifestations of AIDS.

New England College of Optometry

http://www.ne-optometry.edu

Northeastern (Okla.) State University College of Optometry

http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~optometry/

NOVA Southeastern College of Optometry

http://www.nova.edu/

Ohio State University College of Optometry

http://www.optometry.ohio-state.edu/

Pacific University College of Optometry

http://www.opt.pacificu.edu/opt/index.shtml

Pennsylvania College of Optometry

http://www.pco.edu/

Southern College of Optometry

http://www.sco.edu/

Southern California College of Optometry

http://www.scco.edu/

State University of New York College of Optometry

http://www.sunyopt.edu/

University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry

http://icare.opt.uab.edu/

University of California-Berkeley School of Optometry

http://www.spectacle.berkeley.edu/

University of Houston College of Optometry

http://www.opt.uh.edu/

University of Missouri-Saint Louis School of Optometry

http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/optometry

University of Montreal School of Optometry

http://www.opto.umontreal.ca/

University of Waterloo (Ontario) College of Optometry

http://www.optometry.uwaterloo.ca/

Aston University (England) Vision Sciences Department

http://www.vs.aston.ac.uk/

Cardiff University (Wales) Department of Optometry and Visual Science

http://www.cf.ac.uk/uwcc/optom/

City University (London) Department of Optometry and Visual Science

http://www.city.ac.uk/vision_sciences/default.cfml

Hong Kong Polytechnic University Optometry Section

http://www.polyu.edu.hk/~or/optom.htm

Optikerutbildningen Karolinska Institute Swerige (Stockholm)

http://www.dsg.ki.se/optometry/

Queensland University of Technology (Australia) School of Optometry

http://www.qut.edu.au/hlth/opt/

University of Auckland (New Zealand) Department of Optometry and Vision Science

http://www.auckland.ac.nz/opt/Home.html

University of Bradford (England) Department of Optometry

http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/optom/Dept_of_Optometry_Home.html

University of Manchester (England) Institute of Science and Technology—Department of Optometry and Vision Science

http://www.umist.ac.uk/UMIST_OVS/welcome.html

University of Melbourne (Australia)—Victorian College of Optometry

http://www.optometry.unimelb.edu.au/

University of New South Wales (Australia)—School of Optometry

http://www.optom.unsw.edu.au/

Food and Drug Administration

http://www.fda.gov

Health Care Financing Administration

http://www.hcfa.gov/

Latest updates on Medicare and Medicaid regulations, including downloadable documents on new HCFA guidelines.

National Eye Institute

http://www.nei.nih.gov

Information on funding, publications and clinical studies for practitioners and the public. Search the NIH phone and e-mail books.

British Medical Journal

http://www.bmj.com/bmj

Current and back issues, reprint service and information for authors.

Current Eye Research

http://www.oup.co.uk/cureye/

Eye News Online

http://www.eye-news.com/

Online publication from the American Academy of Ophthalmology

Journal of the American Medical Association

http://www.ama-assn.org/public/journals/jama/

Includes current issue highlights and search of contents from past issues.

Lippincott Raven Publishers

http://www.lrpub.com

Offers keyword search, health-science links and bookstore search.

Molecular Vision

http://www.emory.edu/MOLECULAR_VISION

Peer-reviewed Web journal offers text of research articles, search function and editorial list with e-mail links to authors.

Optometric Computing

http://www.webcom.com/~optcom

Southern Journal on-line, "Digital Grand Rounds," Internet "Radio" show, links and information on the upcoming Southern Educational Congress of Optometry. "Super Doc" feature is an Internet version of a full-blown multimedia self-assessment test from the 1995 SECO.

Pharmaceutical Information Network

http://pharminfo.com

Site offers searchable drug database, patient information and industry news.

Retina Journal

http://www.retinajournal.com

Search archives and obtain three subspecialty groups—Macula Society, Vitreous Society and Retina Society .

Review of Ophthalmology

http://www.revophth.com

Search archives, view current issue and download software from "Neat stuff." Link available on Review of Optometry OnLine site, www.revoptom.com.

Survey of Ophthalmology

http://www.elsevier.com/locate/survopthal

Borish Center for Ophthalmic Research

http://www.opt.indiana.edu/bcor/bcor.html

Includes information about research opportunities at Indiana University School of Optometry.

Indian Health Service Optometry Program

http://www.tucson.ihs.gov/Healthcare/Professions/Optometry/optom.asp

Low Vision Gateway

http://www.lowvision.org/

Information for practitioners, patients and their families about low vision aids and sight-threatening diseases. Includes access to discussion groups.

Medical Matrix

http://www.medmatrix.org/

Guide to clinical medicine resources on the Internet.

Medical, Clinical & Occupational Toxicology Resource Home Page

http://www.pitt.edu/~martint

Information on toxicology or poison mailing lists and summaries of important medical toxicology documents.

Medline

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/freemedl.html

National Eye Research Foundation

http://www.nerf.org/

RGP Lens Institute

http://www.rgpli.org

Sjogrens Syndrome Foundation

http://www.sjogrens.com

[]   [Optometric Study Center]   [Managed Care Library]  
[]  [Optometric Resources]  [About RO]  [Search]