Welcome to the latest edition of the Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety (HCAPS) newsletter! In this edition, we are discussing a new study on myopia, how HCAPS is helping those impacted by the hurricanes, and a new survey about HCAPS we encourage you to participate in. Happy reading!

NASEM Myopia Report Findings

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine recently released its report on Myopia: Causes, Prevention, and Treatment of an Increasingly Common Disease.  HCAPS is a proud sponsor of NASEM’s 2024 study on the growing epidemic of myopia.

HCAPS fully supports the academy's recommendations, including the critical importance of granting myopia an official disease designation, an essential step in developing a national strategy to educate parents, administrators, and lawmakers about myopia’s implications on student achievement and overall health.  

If we continue to focus on prevention and innovative treatment options, we can create positive change through public health initiatives that can address the challenges posed by myopia and ensure that children receive the eye care they deserve. 

Learn more from our press release or take a deep dive into NASEM’s key findings.

OFDR Donation

HCAPS and our Partners Johnson & Johnson Vision, EssilorLuxottica, and CooperVision, are proud to announce a $50,000 contribution to the Optometry’s Fund for Disaster Relief (OFDR). Our contribution aims to help the vision care and optometric community impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. 

HCAPS recognizes the dire need to come together and provide assistance to those affected by these devastating storms. It is for this reason that we, and our Partners, ask anyone able to contribute to the OFDR to do so. Any contribution, no matter the size, can create a difference in the lives of those impacted. 

Learn more about how to contribute to the OFDR by clicking the button below. 

NEW: HCAPS Advocate Survey

HCAPS wants to invite you to participate in our new advocate survey! It should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. We will use the information you provide to enhance your experience as an HCAPS advocate, provide resources to help you share our message, and identify ways to help you get more involved in promoting patient safety. 

Take the survey and share it with your networks!

The Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act

At HCAPS we recognize the importance of contact lens safety and aim to minimize obstacles to patient safety. One obstacle is the use of telephone calls with artificial or prerecorded voice, also known as robocalls, to verify patient prescriptions.

That's why HCAPS advocates have been urging their lawmakers to pass the Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act (H.R. 2748 & S. 4083). If passed, this legislation would prohibit any seller of prescription contact lenses from using robocalls to verify consumer prescriptions. Join them in supporting the Contact Lens Prescription Modernization Act.

Thank you for your continued advocacy.

The Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety