Successful annual meeting of the NRW opticians' association

This year's AOV NRW conference in Dortmund saw a record number of participants. One reason for this was guest speaker Gregor Gysi, who advocated for the defense of the rule of law and democracy.

The Opticians and Optometrists Association NRW The Association of Independent Businesses in North Rhine-Westphalia (AOV NRW) recorded a record number of participants at its annual conference in Dortmund this year, with over 400 attendees and 49 partners and exhibitors. Contributing to this success was Member of Parliament Gregor Gysi (The Left Party), who was a guest speaker. In his speech, he advocated for the defense of the rule of law and democracy, and for making these values ​​attractive and tangible once again.

In his welcoming address, Christian Müller, President of the Central Association of Opticians and Optometrists (ZVA) stated that with the new master craftsman examination regulations, the profession had succeeded in implementing key professional policy objectives of the association and thus adapting the professional profile to efforts towards preventative eye care. The subsequent presentations offered a mix of current technical, business, and scientific topics.

Philipp Herrmann from the University Eye Clinic Bonn highlighted current developments in diagnostics, therapy, and innovations for macular diseases. Thomas Heimbach, Chairman of the AOV NRW (Association of Optometrists in North Rhine-Westphalia), presented current industry figures and also reported on the current screening offer from the drugstore chain dm and the reaction of professional associations. Christoph Baum from the ZVA (Central Association of German Optometrists) presented the possibilities of the COE Campus, a digital continuing education platform. It aims to consolidate all continuing education offerings in optometry in one place, thus making further training easily accessible.

Challenges for the healthcare trades

To demonstrate that visual function remains stable throughout the day with orthokeratology, thus proving that correction with Ortho-K lenses offers no disadvantages compared to other corrections, the ZVA (Central Association of German Opticians and Optometrists) initiated a study. Stefan Bandlitz from the Higher Technical School for Optometry and Optics Cologne She carried it out. The proof was successful. Bandlitz explained the process from the research question through data collection to publication.

In his presentation, Heiko Pult outlined standards for recognizing dry eye and introduced a structured management system for handling it within one's own company. Markus Schäfer from Central Association of German Crafts He reported on the health policy situation and the particular challenges for healthcare trades. These included the reform of assistive devices, the reduction of bureaucracy in the prequalification process, and the role of healthcare trades in healthcare provision.

Source: AOV NRW

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