International Vision Expo & Conference and the British Contact Lens Association (BCLA) announced in October 2013, during Vision Expo West in Las Vegas, USA, that they have entered into a multi-year, content exchange agreement to create a two-day ‘Global Contact Lens Forum’.
The new partnership follows months of conversations aimed at expanding and improving continuing education offerings at their respective conferences. The first programme will be available at International Vision Expo East in New York, from 26 to 27 March 2014, providing a forum for scientific content and business solutions for all eyecare providers. The BCLA will host the second forum in Birmingham, UK, in June 2014, during the 38th BCLA Clinical Conference and Exhibition (6-9 June, ICC Birmingham, UK).
The agreement allows International Vision Expo to enhance its portfolio and further solidify its position as a world class content provider. Members of its Conference Advisory Board will have the opportunity to jointly develop innovative, scientific-based courses with a recognised industry leader who is committed to improving education on contact lenses and the anterior eye.
“We’re proud to collaborate with the BCLA on this entirely new stand-alone contact lens programme,” said Kirk Smick, Chairman of International Vision Expo’s Conference Advisory Board. “The BCLA is the most respected contact lens meeting on the globe and Vision Expo is leading the field in practice management trends and business strategies. It’s the perfect collision of science, education and business content.”
The new partnership provides value for eyecare providers as well, as noted by Nick Rumney, BCLA Conference Programme Coordinator. “Successful practice is not about running a business against a clinical programme or a clinical programme to the detriment of a business. You need both to run well. We want to attract more eyecare practitioners to our meeting and, in order to do so, recognised that we needed to be able to teach them how to take their new knowledge and put it into practice. Vision Expo offers a model of excellence and its business solutions are an exact fit
“It all has to do with building deliverable outcomes that benefit the practitioners attending and, ultimately, their patients,” continued Nick. “Whatever you pick up at our conference can be put into practice the very next day. It feeds right back to the patient. This forum is based on that model and promises to be the global showcase for the best scientific and business content.”
