LAKE MARY, Fla., Oct. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — When the American Academy of Pediatrics issued its policy statement with recommendations for instrument-based pediatric vision screening in late 2012, Advocare LLC, a physician-owned, multi-specialty medical group operating in New Jersey and the greater Philadelphia metropolitan region, was already completing its testing of the Spot vision screener and promoting use of the device among pediatricians in its network.
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"We began using Spot in a piloting capacity on behalf of the other locations," said Dr. Kevin King, a physician at Advocare Haddonfield Pediatric Association in New Jersey. Since King is also the vice president of vendor relations for Continuum Health Alliance, the healthcare management company serving the Advocare centers, a fellow physician had asked him to evaluate the device. "Usage began in 2011," he said.
The AAP policy statement declares, "A primary goal of vision screening in young children is the detection of amblyopia or the risk factors for development of amblyopia, a neural deficit in vision that is estimated to be present in 1% to 4% of children [1]." Since early identification of risk factors increases a patient's chances for complete recovery, the policy statement asserts, "Photoscreening and handheld autorefraction may be electively performed in children 6 months to 3 years of age …[and] are recommended as an alternative to visual acuity screening with vision charts from 3 through 5 years of age…"
The results of the pilot satisfied King and his colleagues. "We were getting written consultation letters on patients, and in conversations with ophthalmologists, they gave positive response that we were indeed identifying patients who needed care," he stated. Feedback from the doctors, parents and patients at the care center was also positive. "It was easy to use, portable in the office, well received by parents and well received by patients because it does not look threatening. We were all very impressed."
"By October 2012, Spot was in steady use at other Care Centers, and in 2013 we're experiencing more widespread use," King reported. The group currently deploys Spot in more than half of Advocare's Care Centers. "Several doctors say they're pleased," King said, "patients' response has been good and they're impressed with the technology."
"Advocare's process to validate the efficacy and implementation of Spot is one of the many benefits that group practices provide to their members," said PediaVision vice president Jeff Mortensen. "Spot enables large groups to implement consistent, high-quality care across their entire network."
About PediaVision
PediaVision, inventor of the award winning Spot vision screener, is dedicated to solving the vital health issue of undiagnosed vision problems and transforming the lives of thousands of children each day. A child with an undetected or untreated vision problem is more likely to develop social or emotional problems. Thus, a child's vision problems can affect not only their own learning, but that of their peers [2]. PediaVision is committed to assisting children in reaching their full potential by providing an objective and accurate vision-screening device for public and private healthcare providers.
Supported by ophthalmologists, optometrists, scientists and leading technology innovators, the Spot vision screener is a breakthrough technology and represents what vision screening should be. For more information, including how to order Spot, please visitwww.pediavision.com.
[1] American Academy of Pediatrics. (October 2012) Instrument-Based Pediatric Vision Screening Policy Statement. Pediatrics, 130;983.
[2] Charles E. Basch. (2010). Teachers College, Columbia University. A Research Initiative of the Campaign for Educational Equity Teachers College, Columbia University.
Contact:
Jeff Mortensen
321-377-3095
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