Organisers of the Contact Lens European Evidence Reporting (CLEER) Project, a scheme to gather factual data about significant incidents in Europe with contact lenses, is urging more UK practitioners to assist with data collection.
The European Contact Lens Forum (ECLF) announced this week that it has extended its period of information gathering until December 31, 2009. The original deadline was May 2009.
A spokeswoman for EUROMCONTACT, which isalso active in the project, told Optician that to date 22 reporters have registered from the UK to the web-based initiative which hopes to provide evidence about adverse incidents in Europe related to contact lens use including plano cosmetic lenses. Five reports have been made so far, while the project's organisers hope to reach agreement with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to integrate its data with their scheme.
However, the project is still calling for more practitioners to become registered reporters to help it achieve its goal of convincing authorities to regulate certain aspects of contact lens sales with the aim ofprotecting the public.
Last December, organisers reported that more than 200 eye care professionals from 22 countries had registered for the project.
Regulation of non-corrective contact lenses and the distribution of contact lenses through such avenues as internet sales are areas on which the CLEER Project wishes to gather data in order to bring about legislation.
Practitioners interested in assisting with the scheme should log onto its website, www.CLEER-project.eu