Ramblings and Reflections from a Baby Boomer
Written by Dr. Hartman
Age-Related Macular Degeneration: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Ask anyone and they probably know of a friend or a family member that has been diagnosed or is being treated for Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). The macula is the central part of the retina measuring only 6mm in diameter and providing the central 20 degrees of...
Our New Virtual World
I recently spent a beautiful North Carolina Saturday in front of my computer attending a Zoom Webinar. By now, most of us are familiar or have used the Zoom video conferencing platform. I was one of several hundred North Carolina Doctors of Optometry attending the...
Understanding the Opioid Epidemic
Opium is harvested from the seed pod of the Poppy plant “Papaver Somniferum”. The opiates morphine, codeine, and others are naturally present and extracted from the poppy. Opioids for medical, recreational, spiritual, and cultural purposes date back centuries. In...
Wellness for Health, not Disease
Today’s healthcare system focuses too often on disease detection and medical treatment after the fact. The increasing numbers of people diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes is a perfect example of this in our country. A far better approach is avoidance of the disease by...
Time to Save Your Vision
The American Optometric Association has declared the month of March as Save Your Vision Month. The message is simple: the importance of the role of regular eye examinations in the maintaining of good vision and eye health. The message is worth repeating to those of us...
January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month
Glaucoma is a disease that affects nearly 3 million people and the numbers are on the increase as our population ages. As a Baby Boomer this statistic concerns me both as an eye doctor and an aging patient. Presently, there is no cure for Glaucoma. However, with early...
When Nothing More Can Be Done…
“I am so sorry, Mr. or Mrs. Patient, but nothing more can be done.” These are words that doctors, including eye specialists, hate to utter. Unfortunately, patients that have lost significant vision may feel abandoned with little or no recourse. For me, this rings...
Retirement – For Better or Worse
Wikipedia defines retirement as “the withdrawal from one’s position or occupation or from one’s active working life.” For some, this withdrawal from active working can be a long awaited joy. Many times I hear, “now I have time to spend with the grandchildren.” For...
The Future of Health Care – My Thoughts
Fast forward to the year 2028 – The age of electronic medical records will be solidly entrenched. The sharing of your health information between you, your doctors, and all of your health care providers via the internet will seem common place. We will all have...
The Present State Of Health Care – A Boomer’s Perspective
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010 in an attempt to control runaway costs in our health care delivery system, improve efficiency, reduce errors in the present health model, and hopefully offer affordable health insurance to all Americans. The ACA...
