SAN FRANCISCO – The American Academy of Ophthalmology announced today that it is planning to launch a new, comprehensive online education center and news network for ophthalmologists by late 2007. The initiative, the Ophthalmic News and Education (O.N.E.) Network, will help the Academy’s 27,000 members manage the clinical education information they need regularly.

“The O.N.E. Network will help us to further the Academy’s education mission by offering lifelong learning opportunities for our members in a way that is easily accessible,” said Charles P. Wilkinson, MD, president of the Academy. “O.N.E. will meet the ever-increasing needs of our profession by providing members with a rich and dynamic educational experience.”

The Academy recently signed an agreement with healthcare publisher Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (part of Wolters Kluwer Health) to help provide professional content and the online delivery formats best suited for practitioners.

The O.N.E. Network will rely upon the newest Web technologies to provide ophthalmologists in the United States and internationally with a broad range of easily searchable materials and information, including practice standards, cases, educational videos of procedures and tools to maintain certification. The Network will also provide ophthalmologists with news and third-party content, which will make O.N.E. a complete resource for the needs of eye M.D.s.

“The O.N.E. Network will be a major advance in the delivery of educational information to ophthalmologists,” said H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD, executive vice president for the Academy. “We are excited about the opportunities that it will offer, and we look forward to updating our members about the progress we are making toward our launch in the months to come.”

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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.