WCO, Alcon, and IACLE Partner to Advance Dry Eye Education

The World Council of Optometry (WCO) and Alcon's joint dry eye initiative has struck a new partnership with the International Association of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE), giving university instructors around the world direct access to a suite of digital dry eye teaching tools.

Announced this week, the deal means IACLE's more than 1,100 members across 86 countries and over 600 academic institutions will be able to pull the WCO Alcon Dry Eye Wheel and the Dry Eye Management Map straight from the IACLE Teaching Online Platform (IACLETOP), the organisation's learning management system.

The Dry Eye Wheel has just been updated to reflect the latest recommendations from the newly published TFOS DEWS III report, and walks clinicians through a three-step framework of mitigation, measurement and management for treating patients with dry eye disease. It's paired with the Dry Eye Management Map, an interactive resource built to help practitioners, educators and students work through dry eye management using an evidence-based approach. Both tools are already available in Arabic, Chinese, French and Spanish, with more languages planned.

WCO president Cindy Tromans said the partnership would help get the resources in front of the next generation of eye care professionals as demand grows.

"Dry eye disease is a growing issue worldwide, so it's critical that educators easily be able to access the program tools and use them to educate the next generation of ECPs," she said.

Alcon's global head of professional education and development, Carla Mack, said broadening access through IACLE would support more consistent, patient-centred care.

"By expanding access to the WCO Alcon dry eye initiative through IACLE, we can help equip educators and students around the world with the latest tools that support consistent, patient-centered care today—and create new opportunities to advance dry eye education in the future," she said.

IACLE's executive manager of educational development, Craig Woods, said the arrangement would let members share the resource directly with students to help prepare them for clinical practice.

The move comes as dry eye disease continues to climb globally, driven by factors including rising screen use, environmental triggers and an ageing population. An estimated 1.6 billion people worldwide are affected by the condition.

More information on the WCO and Alcon dry eye initiative is available at dryeye.worldcouncilofoptometry.info.