SAN FRANCISCO - The American Academy of Ophthalmology announced today that it has signed an agreement with Healthology, an NBC Universal subsidiary, to produce a series of clinical educational videos during the next two years. The videos will be available to members on the Academy's Web site.

"This is yet another way for the Academy to fulfill its mission of advancing lifelong learning opportunities for our members," said Charles P. Wilkinson, MD, president of the Academy. "We think the members will find these videos to be rewarding educational experiences, ones
 that they can refer to whenever they choose."

According to Richard Zorab, vice president for clinical education at the Academy, the videos will be approximately 10 minutes long covering topics such as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and Phakic IOLs.

The videos will be shot in an interview format. The initial three installments will be hosted by renowned cataract and refractive surgery specialist Jack Holladay, MD, past chairman of the Academy's Committee on Low Vision and recipient of the Academy's Honor Award (1985) and Senior Honor Award (1995).

The Academy will unveil the first six videos by the end of June. They will be available to members on the Educational Resource Center on www.aao.org. The videos will later transfer to the new Ophthalmic News and Education (O.N.E.) Network, which is slated to launch in late 2007.

O.N.E. is a comprehensive online education center and news network for ophthalmologists, designed to help the Academy's 27,000 members manage the clinical education information they need regularly.

Healthology is one of the leading producers and distributors of physician-generated health and medical information on the Internet for consumers, patients and health professionals.

"We are pleased to have this opportunity to work with an organization as prestigious as the Academy," said Healthology co-founder Steven Haimowitz, MD. "We see this as an opportunity to help the Academy develop a library of information that will help improve the quality of ocular health care."

Academy Executive Vice President, H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD, said the agreement with Healthology is an exciting step in the development of the O.N.E. Network for Academy members.

"Each element adds another benefit for our members," he said. "We will continue to explore and utilize the latest technologies as continuing education opportunities. In doing so, the Academy can help improve the level of eye care for millions of people in the United States and across the world."

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About the American Academy of Ophthalmology
AAO is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons - Eye M.D.s - with more than 27,000 members worldwide.  Eye health care is provided by the three "O's" - opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it all: eye diseases and injuries, and perform eye surgery. To find an Eye M.D. in your area, visit the Academy's Web site at www.aao.org.