The Australian-founded international educational platform for myopia management, Myopia Profile, and EssilorLuxottica have renewed their partnership that will include the release of a new podcast series for eyecare professionals.
The ongoing partnership between Myopia Profile and EssilorLuxottica – a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of ophthalmic lenses, frames and sunglasses – is working to address the growing need for best practice myopia management among optometrists who will address increasing myopia prevalence in the younger population.
The partnership, which commenced in 2020, has dramatically boosted engagement among practitioners with Myopia Profile’s educational platforms, particularly with the spectacle lens topics. There has been a 10-fold increase in search terms for “myopia control spectacles lenses” among practitioners during the past year, and a four-fold increase in searches by members of the public.
“There has been a colossal increase in engagement with our digital platforms since we started our partnership with EssilorLuxottica,” said Dr Kate Gifford, the Brisbane-based founder and director of Myopia Profile.
“We have seen a doubling of growth year-on-year, and are thrilled to see the myopia message spreading wider and wider – but we can also see where there is more work to do. We can see that there is definitely a thirst for knowledge and information with regard to myopia-control spectacle lenses, and we aim to provide more of that, through our partnership with EssilorLuxottica.”
EssilorLuxottica and Myopia Profile will release a series of podcasts that cover clinical communication in myopia management, as well as the practice fundamentals of getting started in managing childhood myopia.
The exclusive podcasts will offer engaging, 10-minute episodes with a focus on providing simple steps and practical advice to eyecare practitioners. They will be housed exclusively on EssilorLuxottica’s open learning platform, Leonardo.
“Myopia control spectacle lenses is one of the biggest growth topics amongst practitioners that engage with MyopiaProfile.com and our other digital platforms – it is clear that they want to know more about it,” Gifford said.
“And it’s also important to keep in step with the increasing public and parental awareness. Everyone should understand the risks of myopia and the best methods of treatment, because it isn’t just about a pair of spectacles – it’s about giving children the best possible vision now, and protecting their eye health into adulthood as well.”
Ms Olga Prenat, EssilorLuxottica’s head of medical marketing, professional relations and vision care education, said the company was pleased to see such progress from its partnership with Myopia Profile.
“[Myopia Profile] is an organisation that shares our vision for the future, to encourage more adoption of myopia control solutions, and contribute to better vision and eye health for children” she said.
“As leaders committed to improving vision in the world, we look forward to accomplishing more together, to continue sharing the wealth of knowledge and resources on myopia in order to enhance knowledge and practice among eyecare professionals, in line with our mission to help people ‘see more and be more’.”
Other key highlights of the partnership include:
- A video lesson by Gifford for EssilorLuxottica’s myopia management certification program titled ‘Moving beyond myopia correction to control’ is available on Leonardo
- New content releases supported by EssilorLuxottica, where the latest reports from the International Myopia Institute are detailed, along with what these new findings mean for clinical practice, and case studies with take-home messages.
Since announcing the start of their collaboration, Myopia Profile and EssilorLuxottica have worked on changing the landscape of myopia education worldwide, making myopia management information and resources more accessible for both practitioners and patient.
“If the reaction to our recent seminar series with Dr Gifford for the launch of the Essilor Stellest lens in ANZ is any indication, the interest in myopia control solutions like Stellest, is about to sky rocket,” added Mr Tim Thurn, medical and professional relations director for EssilorLuxottica ANZ.
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