(For previous ICO Leader Letters, go to: www.icoph.org/news/letters.html.)
On the heels of the recent adoption by the World Health Association of a resolution calling for more support for prevention of blindness (see www.icoph.org/prev), Eli Lilly and Company Foundation has awarded a substantial grant to the International Council of Ophthalmology Foundation (ICOFoundation) to establish a model Diabetic Eye Disease Center. See the report from ICOFoundation President Bradley Straatsma, MD, JD, below. And ICO committees and task forces continue to develop new curricula and guidelines designed to be adapted by ophthalmologic societies and used by ophthalmologists, including a new ICO International Clinical Guideline on Trachoma, announced by Guidelines Director Rich Abbott, MD, in Item #3 below. At the same time, members of the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS) are adapting the ICO guidelines and defining their own, and we are making significant progress on "training the trainers." Are the ICO Clinical Guidelines helpful to you? What else could we do to support you in your efforts to enhance eye care and prevent blindness? Please let us know. Thanks to all of you who contributed your ideas for ICO strategic planning. In the August Leader Letter, I will report on our planning session this month in Zurich. - Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President 2. Lilly Grant to ICOFoundation for Diabetic Eye Center
The Eli Lilly and Company Foundation has given the International Council of Ophthalmology Foundation (ICOFoundation) an award of $150,000 to establish a model Eli Lilly Diabetic Eye Disease Center in partnership with the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO). The diabetic center will be established in a place of major need in the developing world. Site selection will be determined by the ICO in consultation with representatives of Eli Lilly, the World Health Organization (WHO) and both supranational and national ophthalmology organizations. As a global epidemic, the frequency of diabetes mellitus is increasing at an alarming rate. For example, India projects an increase from 32 million diabetics in 2004 to 80 million diabetics in 2030. With the prevalence of vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy destined to increase, establishment of a diabetic eye disease center is a major breakthrough in establishing medically coordinated, high quality, accessible and sustainable eye care. We appreciate the support of the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation for this essential first step. - Bradley R. Straatsma, MD, JD, President, ICOFoundation 3. New ICO Clinical Guideline on Trachoma
The document was written by Tom Lietman, MD, from the Proctor Foundation in San Francisco, who has worked for the past several years treating this disease, primarily in Ethiopia and Nepal. Tom consulted with Chan Dawson, MD, another respected expert in trachoma, with feedback from Hugh Taylor, MD, and others. We are aware that there may be disagreement with some of the recommendations. Without evidence from clinical trials, we must rely on a consensus of expert opinion. It should be clear that any clinical guideline is directed towards populations of patients and may not specifically meet the needs of any individual patient. In addition, even if followed exactly, clinical guidelines do not guarantee a successful outcome. Like our other 19 ICO International Clinical Guidelines (www.icoph.org/guide/guidelist.html), the trachoma Guideline is designed to be easy to read and to translate. We hope that national ophthalmologic societies will adapt these guidelines for use by ophthalmologists in your countries. - Rich Abbott, MD, ICO Director for Guidelines 4. Implementation of Clinical Guidelines in China
The Chinese Ophthalmological Society (COS) is disseminating Clinical Practice Guidelines that we have defined to hospital teaching centers and regional centers throughout China and will report on progress at the Third Global Chinese Ophthalmic Conference, August 31 to September 4 in Beijing. Translation of 10 of the ICO's International Clinical Guidelines into Chinese was the first step. That led to an initial workshop on defining practice guidelines for China in September 2004 and introduction of our Guidelines to the ophthalmic community at the COS Congress in September 2005. With the help of Dr. Rich Abbott and representatives of the World Health Organization and U.S. National Eye Institute, we have defined a formal evaluation protocol to assess the impact of the guidelines on training at selected medical centers and on ophthalmic practice and eye care in China. India will initiate a process to define clinical guidelines in 2007. If you are interested in developing guidelines in your country, it may be helpful to review Dr. Abbott's report on the COS process at www.icoph.org/guide/chinarp.html. - Jialiang Zhao, MD, Council Member and President, Chinese Ophthalmological Society 5. Other Clinical Guidelines Available
The ICO Guidelines Committee is interested in reviewing clinical guidelines developed by IFOS members and others, for potential links from the ICO Web site. Among the ophthalmology guidelines available online are:
Let us know about other clinical guidelines you have developed by contacting me at guidelines@icoph.org. - Rich Abbott, MD, ICO Director for Guidelines 6. ICO Courses for Residency Program Directors
ICO Ophthalmology Residency Program Directors Courses have the potential to elevate the level of ophthalmic education in residencies worldwide, according to participants in Courses held recently in Lima, Peru and Cairo, Egypt. The Course on March 23 - 24 in Lima was for residency directors from Peru, Bolivia and nearby countries. The Course on June 15 - 16 in Cairo had more than 60 participants from Arab countries in the Middle East and Pakistan. You can download the program for the Cairo course from www.icoph.org/pdf/ICOResidencyCourse.pdf. Supported in part by gifts from Allergan to the ICOFoundation, the Courses were organized by the ICO in conjunction with national and supranational ophthalmologic societies, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology and other regional associations of university professors. Another ICO Program Directors Course is scheduled in July 2007 in Buenos Aires, for residency directors from Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. We are discussing organizing additional courses next year in conjunction with Congresses of the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology and European Ophthalmological Society. Thanks to the faculty, participants and all those involved for your contributions to this exciting initiative to enhance ophthalmic education! - Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President 7. Next ICO and IFOS Meetings and World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC)
Other future ICO/IFOS Meetings: www.icoph.org/lead/icomeet.html. 8. Coming in the August ICO Leader Letter: Report on ICO/IFOS Strategic Planning 9. More News For more news of the ICO and international ophthalmology and resources for ophthalmologic leaders, see the ICO's Eye Site at www.icoph.org. 10. Request for Other News and Resources Do you have other news of international ophthalmology or know resources (particularly on the Web) that would be valuable to society leaders? Please let us know at leader@icoph.org. 11. Comments, Change of Address, Privacy Policy, Subscribe and Unsubscribe Send comments and suggestions for the Leader Letter to leader@icoph.org. You are subscribed as [contact-Email]. Change your address by sending e-mail to: leader@icoph.org. We do not share e-mail addresses with anyone else. Check our privacy policy at: www.icoph.org/ic/privacy.html. To subscribe to the Leader Letter, visit www.icoph.org/news/subscribe.html. To unsubscribe, reply to this e-mail and type "unsubscribe" (without the quotes) as the subject, click on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this page, or send an e-mail to leader@icoph.org. You can read this ICO Leader Letter online at www.icoph.org/news/leader0607.html. For previous issues, go to www.icoph.org/news/letters.html. Copyright © 2006 International Council of Ophthalmology. All rights reserved.  International Council of OphthalmologyHome | News | About ICO/IFOS | ICOFoundation | Contact | Find |
