Mississippi optometrists learn new information about treating patients with diabetes as part of VSP Eye on Diabetes campaign
Today, optometrists from across Mississippi attended a free continuing education course approved by the Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE) to learn the most recent information and to receive up-to-date tools to help continue providing quality care for their patients who have or are at-risk for diabetes. The course was led by Dr. Paul Chous, who specializes in diabetes eye care and has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes mellitus for forty years, and VSP provider and expert in retinal disease management, Dr. Jeffry Gerson.
“New information pertaining to diabetes continues to emerge, so it’s important that doctors of optometry be aware of the most recent research news and clinical tools to care for their patients properly,” said Dr. Chous.
Today’s course is a component of the VSP Eye on Diabetes campaign, which returns for its third year in 2012 to provide low-income, uninsured and underinsured residents across America with free health services, including comprehensive eye exams and health risk assessments for diabetes and high blood pressure. On Monday, Mississippians in need will benefit from the campaign at the Coastal Family Health Center in Biloxi. Mississippi is the second highest state in the United States for overall diabetes prevalence as it is estimated that 372,000 Mississippians have been diagnosed with diabetes and more than 100,000 Mississippians have undiagnosed diabetes.
The course is offered in each city that the VSP Eye on Diabetes campaign visits. Upcoming campaign stops include Columbus, OH, Sacramento and Torrance, CA and Pittsburgh, PA. Since the campaign’s inception in May 2010, more than 3,000 patients have been helped in eight states.
Here are thoughts from doctors who attended today’s course:
“This is a good refresher course on diabetes. I’m pleased they covered more material than I thought there was time to cover and it’s very interesting. I’ve learned some of the different tests for diabetes, some of the things you might miss over the course of an eye exam, what you should look out for, all the medicines, and the types of questions you should ask your patients about how they’re managing their diabetes.”
- VSP Provider Barry Marshall, OD, Marshall Eye Clinic – Gulfport, MS
“This is the most valuable program I’ve ever attended on diabetes. It’s much more in-depth and has more detail than anything else I’ve seen before. I’ve learned a lot of new signs to look for in patients who may be at-risk for diabetes that I’ve never seen before. It’s very refreshing to see a course that has this much detail. I would absolutely recommend this course to my colleagues. This is the best program on diabetes I’ve ever seen and it has kept me on the edge of my chair.”
- Ron Mozingo, OD – Hattiesburg, MS
Stay tuned to the VSP Blog for more updates from the VSP Eye on Diabetes campaign!