THIS MONTH’S FOCUS is on the American Optometric Association (AOA)’s Contact Lens & Cornea Section (CLCS). CLS recently had the pleasure to hear from CLCS chair Mile Brujic, OD.

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THE AOA’S CONTACT LENS & CORNEA SECTION.

The Contact Lens & Cornea Section is considered a nationally recognized segment of the American Optometric Association. The mission is dedicated to furthering understanding in the field of contact lenses, cornea, both diagnostics and the therapeutics and treatments, also, any type of anterior segment disease, refractive surgery, and any related technologies. The membership includes eyecare practitioners and optometry students. Our mission is timely clinical education.

We represent alongside the AOA at state and national government agencies so that they understand and know what’s happening in terms of patient care. The [CLCS] is a recognized and trusted voice for the public for information on contact lenses, anterior segment management, [and] refractive technologies.

TELL US ABOUT ANY NEW INITIATIVES IN WHICH THE CLCS IS INVOLVED.

In the era of electronics and ease of communication through digital devices, we’re trying to merge that with the real-life experience as well. We hosted a myopia progression management series where we had virtual meetings [and] also connected everybody live at AOA in D.C. this past year with a real symposium. We discussed some of the advancements in the space and area of myopia progression management, which is massive.

One of the other things—there was a big issue that happened relatively recently with artificial tear recalls, and those are companies literally that seemed to have skirted traditional [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] pathways—providing over-the-counter, non-preserved artificial tears availability to patients that caused some massive issues. We were directly involved with the AOA on making sure our professions and the general public were aware of the dangers, which actually puts the hands of the recommendations within the eyecare practitioner’s space again. We can really be that sole focus where people are coming to us for that information.

I wear two hats—a CLCS hat and an eyecare practitioner hat. I think CLCS provides that dissemination of information around those sensitive topics. Clinically, we have to make sure that we’re able to understand what’s happening so that we can answer patient questions and give them appropriate directions as well.

PLEASE SHARE YOUR VISION FOR THE CONTACT LENS FIELD.

I graduated in 2002. I remember one of my favorite professors telling me at the time, “Twenty years from now, you’re going to be managing myopia progression with a drop.” I thought, that’s the craziest thing I have ever heard. The only inaccuracy in his prediction was [that] we actually had access to those technologies sooner than 20 years after I graduated.

I think myopia progression management is an area where we’re going to look back in five, 10, 15, 20 years and say, “Remember when we used to do that?” When you take a big step back, that’s one of the massive areas where I see substantial changes occurring, not only in the pharmaceuticals but also in contact lenses.

The other thing, too—and this is one that is a segment of the eyecare space—but for those of us that embrace this, [it’s] a large part of our practice, and that is the specialty lens side of the world. I think with corneal GPs, sclerals, hybrids—we’ve seen massive innovation. I think those will continue to advance the profession.

We’re going to start to see that if we’re using these on more advanced corneal ectasias, more advanced diseases, I think we’re going to start looking back and saying, “Why wouldn‘t they benefit other populations?” We could use this to learn more, even about the health consequences surrounding some of these specialty lenses and our eyecare space. CLS