This article was originally published in a sponsored newsletter.

Athens County is the most impoverished county in the state of Ohio but, in my practice, we have never let that influence our care delivery or clinical recommendations. The office mantra is to offer the highest quality medical eye care and the latest innovations in ophthalmic products sans assuming a patient’s financial situation.

The approach toward myopia management is no different. Our eyecare providers have been practicing myopia management off label for nearly two decades, utilizing center-distance multifocal and extended depth of focus contact lens designs, as well as orthokeratology. In fact, my former business partner (now retired) was one of the original clinical investigators for the trial that resulted in the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for overnight orthokeratology…and he fit 14-year-old me in my first pair of soft toric lenses.

With the prospect of more FDA-approved myopia control products on the horizon, the hope is to expand these treatments even further, while also finding a way to make them affordable for and accessible to patients. Fortunately, our practice’s history as a clinical research site has allowed me to serve as an investigator in two industry-sponsored FDA studies for myopia, one for contact lenses and another for spectacle lenses.

By participating in these studies, my practice has been able to provide cutting-edge myopia control care to more than 30 patients, regardless of their insurance coverage or ability to pay. These children and their families not only benefit from the direct care they receive through the clinical trial, but they are also excited to help researchers gain more information, which will create opportunities for even more children.

At the recent Myopia Collective Change Agents Workshop, practitioners nationwide gathered to learn more about the myopia epidemic and to share best practices on management strategies. What was abundantly clear was that there is a real need for an increased focus on myopia in all regions of the country.

This condition affects people from rural communities to urban centers, and across all socio-economic classes. While cutting-edge treatments are often first made available in institutions and advanced practices in larger cities, children in underserved areas deserve access to this care as well.

Consider joining the Myopia Collective (myopiacollective.org), so you can get up-to-date information on this epidemic and learn how you can incorporate myopia management into your own practice.

As a profession, and with our industry partners, we must work together to ensure access to care for all children, even in the most rural and remote areas of our country, because that young myope from Appalachia just might end up being our future colleague.