Beyer Eye Associates is partnering with the American Optometric Association’s (AOA) new public awareness campaign, ‘Start With Eye’, to highlight the critical importance of eyecare in overall health. According to AOA’s newEye-Q survey, only half of Americans are actually going for annual eye exams.
“Good vision is essential to quality of life and a comprehensive eye exam is an important, preventive way to preserve vision andmaintain overall health,” says [affiliate / spokesperson name here]. “We are thrilled to join with the AOA to spread awareness and encourage the citizens of [state] to schedule their in-person #2020EyeExam with a local doctor of optometry today.”
A multi-phased campaign, ‘Start With Eye’ serves as a platform to ensure people understand why an annual comprehensive eye exam is necessary. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the benefits of eye exams even to those with 20/20 vision and to remove the barriers stopping patients from turning proper eyecare into an ongoing part of their healthcare routine.
Because eye health and vision problems may develop without any obvious signs or symptoms, in-person, annual comprehensive eye exams with doctors of optometry are important to detect early signs of visual system diseases such as glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness. In addition, eye exams safeguard overall health by enabling the doctor of optometry to detect more than 270 serious health conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, autoimmune diseases and cancers.
For instance, according to the AOA data, 21 percent of participants said they have been diagnosed with a non-eye related health issue such as STIs, high cholesterol, and diabetes, by an eye health professional; while 52 percent said they had not received a comprehensive eye exam in the past two years.
“Doctors of optometry play a pivotal role in identifying various health care needs beyond eye health,” said AOA President Barbara L. Horn, O.D. “AOA’s new ‘Start With Eye’ 2020 campaign gives the public the facts tied to the benefits of an annual comprehensive eye examwhile also encouraging people to take the time to get their eyes checked.”
March’s Save Your Vision Month is the perfect time to ‘Start With Eye’ and schedule an in-person, comprehensive eye exam. NJ residents can find a local doctor at AOA.org.