How to access eye care resources  Peer-reviewed journals

How to access eye care resources
 Peer-reviewed journals
Evaluating research findings published in peer-reviewed journals and using them to make the best decisions for patients is an
important part of eye care practice. These journals can also be a useful source of review articles, case histories and editorials on
key issues in practice. Most peer-reviewed journals are now available online, although access may be limited to subscribers or to
members of the organisation or association that publishes them. Most publishers allow some level of access to journals, although
the full text of papers may not be available without charge.
Abstracts of papers published in peer-reviewed journals are available free of charge at the journal’s website. The Vision Care
Institute™ regularly reviews journal articles, comments on their relevance and suggests how you might use them in eye care
practice. Click on the link in each What’s New in the Journals? item to view the abstract. If access to the full text or PDF of the
paper is also freely available, a link will be provided.
To view abstracts of all papers in a given issue, visit the journal website and click on ‘Current issue’, ‘Archive’ or ‘Table of contents’.
Alternatively, if there’s a particular paper you want to find, go to PubMed (see ‘Search facilities’) and search by author’s name or
topic. Related articles are listed alongside each abstract in PubMed. The full text of papers can also be accessed via the journal
website or PubMed, although there will normally be a charge. Some papers are available free online ahead of publication, or
selected papers may have free access.
Athens is a service that allows you to access to a range of electronic resources from any computer. College of Optometrists
members can access 16 ophthalmic journals by logging in with an Athens username and password. The College provides this
service at no charge to its members. Email [email protected] to subscribe. Athens is not available to other UK
optometrists or dispensing opticians at present although in future this may be possible. Publishers also run their own full text
databases, examples being ScienceDirect and Ovid (see ‘Search facilities’).
Other journals are accessible free to members of the various associations that publish them. Examples among the UK journals are
Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics and Optometry in Practice, which are available online to College members. BCLA members
receive free printed copies of Contact Lens & Anterior Eye and free online access; Libraries are also a way of accessing the full text
of papers. Some of the associations will supply the full text of papers for a small charge. The British Library also offers this service.
Some useful peer-reviewed journals
Journal
Contact Lens & Anterior Eye
Ophthalmic & Physiological
Optics
Optometry in Practice
Frequenc
y
Six issues
per year
Bimonthly
Quarterly
Website
Association/Publisher
Full text
Athens
www.contactlensjournal.com
British Contact Lens
Association
College of
Optometrists
College of
Optometrists
Members/
subscribers
Members/
subscribers
Members/
subscribers
Yes
Email
alert
No
Yes
No
No
No
American Academy of
Optometry
Contact Lens Association
of Ophthalmologists
Optometrists Association
Australia
Association for Research
and Vision in
Ophthalmology
American Optometric
Association
American Academy of
Ophthalmologists
The Cornea Society
Members/
subscribers
Members/
subscribers
Members/
subscribers
Members/
subscribers
Yes
Yes
No
(Ovid)
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Members/
subscribers
Members/
subscribers
Subscribers
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Subscribers
No
(Ovid)
Yes
Subscribers
Yes
Yes
Members/
subscribers
Yes
Yes
http://www.wiley.com/bw/journ
al.asp?ref=0275-5408
http://www.collegeoptometrists.org/index.aspx/pc
ms/site.membership.Member_
Benefits.Optometry_in_Practic
e/
http://journals.lww.com/optvis
sci/pages/default.aspx
http://journals.lww.com/claojou
rnal/pages/default.aspx
http://www3.interscience.wiley.
com/journal/118487520/home
http://www.iovs.org/
Optometry & Vision Science
Monthly
Eye & Contact Lens:
Science and Clinical Practice
Clinical & Experimental
Optometry
Investigative Ophthalmology
& Visual Science
Six issues
per year
Six issues
per year
Monthly
Optometry
Monthly
Ophthalmology
Monthly
Cornea
10 issues
per year
Monthly
http://www.optometryjaoa.com/
home
http://www.ophsource.org/peri
odicals/ophtha/home
http://journals.lww.com/corneaj
rnl/pages/default.aspx
http://archopht.ama-assn.org/
Monthly
http://bjo.bmj.com/
American Medical
Association
BMJ Publishing
Monthly
http://www.nature.com/eye/ind
ex.html
Royal College of
Ophthalmologists
Archives of Ophthalmology
British Journal of
Ophthalmology
Eye
No
Yes
 Practitioner journals
Non-refereed practitioner journals are an important source of news and information on developments in eye care, as well as
supplying useful features and review articles. Access to these journals can help you keep abreast of current thinking in eye care.
Some useful practitioner journals
Journal
UK
Optician (incorporating Contact Lens
Monthly, first week of each month)
Optometry Today
Dispensing Optics
US
Contact Lens Spectrum
Review of Optometry
Review of Cornea
and Contact Lenses
Frequency
Website
Association/Publisher
Full text
Email alert
Weekly
www.opticianonline.net
Reed Elsevier
Yes
Yes
Fortnightly
Monthly
www.optometry.co.uk
www.abdo.org.uk
Association of Optometrists
Association of British
Dispensing Opticians
Yes
No
Yes
No
Monthly
Monthly
Monthly
www.clspectrum.com
www.revoptom.com
www.revoptom.com
Wolters Kluwer
Jobson
Jobson
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
 Search facilities
Abstracts and full text of papers in peer-reviewed journals can be accessed via various search facilities and portals.
Some useful search facilities / portals
Search facility / portal
Website
PubMed
MyAthens
British Library
ScienceDirect
Ovid
OphSource
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
www.athensams.net/myathens/
www.bl.uk
www.sciencedirect.com
www.ovid.com
www.ophsource.org
 Other useful resources ‒ contact lenses and anterior eye
Some useful news services, websites and organisations for information on contact lenses and anterior eye
News service / website
BCLA News Update
Contact Lenses Today
Silicone hydrogels website and newsletter
I-site newsletter
Contact Lens Research
Reference Sight
Website / address for details
www.bcla.org.uk
www.cltoday.com
www.siliconehydrogels.org
[email protected]
www.contactlensresearch.com
www.referencesight.com
Description
Monthly summary of CL/anterior eye news
Weekly e-newsletter from Contact Lens Spectrum
Resources on silicone hydrogel contact lenses
e-newsletter on RGP lenses
Online lectures of recent research in contact lenses
Searchable database on CLs and anterior eye
Organisation
British Contact Lens Association
Association of Contact Lens Manufacturers
International Association of Contact Lens Educators
Medical Contact Lens and Ocular Surface Association
Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society
Keratoconus Group
Scottish Contact Lens Society
North East Contact Lens Society
www.bcla.org.uk
www.aclm.org.uk
www.iacle.org
www.mclosa.org.uk
www.tearfilm.org
www.keratoconus-group.org.uk
www.scls.co.uk
www.necls.org
Membership organisation for CL professionals
Publishes ACLM Contact Lens Yearbook
Global organisation for educational standards
Membership organisation for ophthalmologists
News and events on tear film
Support group for practitioners and patients
Regional organisation for CL professionals
Regional organisation for CL professionals