Partners
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a cooperative agreement to NORC at the University of Chicago to lead the development of the Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System (VEHSS). NORC is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, NORC has conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with NORC to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.
The mission of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) is the world’s largest association of eye physicians and surgeons. AAO is a global community of 32,000 medical doctors that innovates to advance their profession and to ensure the delivery of the highest-quality eye care. The American Academy of Ophthalmology IRIS® Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight) is a major initiative to lead significant innovations and improvements to medical and surgical eye care in the United States–from large-scale breakthroughs to incremental improvements by individual care providers. It is the world’s largest eye disease and condition registry with more than 13,000 participating physicians and millions of patient records.
IRIS®Registry provides VEHSS with important information on the diagnosed prevalence of vision loss and major eye conditions, as well as service utilization and access to care.
Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness works to improve the nation’s vision and eye health by promoting advances in public health systems that support eye health needs, by advocating for public policy that emphasizes early detection and access to eye care, and by educating the American public on the importance of taking care of their eyes and their vision. Prevent Blindness promotes a continuum of vision care through all life stages by bringing together science and policy to implement positive population-based change with an emphasis on early detection and access to care. In recent years, Prevent Blindness has focused on implementing nationwide systems change to affect vision and eye health. Such efforts include advocating for the establishment and funding of a Vision Health Initiative at the CDC; publishing data on the prevalence of vision problems and their associated costs ; establishing a National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health; and hosting an annual National Summit on Eye Health. Prevent Blindness’s work is amplified by a network of affiliates, regional offices, and program partners. Prevent Blindness’ role in VEHSS is to serve as the public interface for much of the system’s activities, including stakeholder engagement and public dissemination of information.
Established in 2007, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is an independent research center within UW Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. IHME provides rigorous and comparable measurement of the world’s most important health problems and evaluates strategies to address them. IHME makes this information available so that policy makers, donors, practitioners, researchers, and local and global decision makers have the evidence they need to make informed decisions about how to allocate resources to improve population health.
VSP Global is a doctor-governed company that exists to create value for members and opportunities for VSP® network doctors. Our industry leading businesses combine eye care insurance, high-quality eyewear, customized lenses, ophthalmic technology, and connected experiences to strengthen the relationship between patients and their eye doctors.
VSP Global includes VSP Vision Care, the only national nonprofit company in vision care. Partnering with more than 39,000 network doctors, VSP Vision Care provides access to high-quality affordable eye care and eyewear to more than 88 million members worldwide.
Through Eyes of Hope, VSP supports local communities around the globe with initiatives that provide access to eye care, eyewear, education, and disaster relief where they’re needed most. Together with VSP network doctors, to date, through Eyes of Hope, VSP Global has provided access to no-cost eye care and eyewear for more than 1.8 million people in need.