Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and the American Academy of Ophthalmology to Create Online Clinical Education Center for Ophthalmologists.

'Ophthalmic News & Education Network' Will Promote Lifelong Learning with a Single-Source for Obtaining, Evaluating and Updating Clinical Knowledge

PHILADELPHIA -- The American Academy of Ophthalmology has chosen leading healthcare publisher Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, part of Wolters Kluwer Health, to create an online educational resource center for Ophthalmologists.

The new tool will help the Academy's 27,000 members fulfill the American Board of Ophthalmology's Maintenance of Certification requirements and will further the Academy's mission of providing lifelong learning opportunities for its members.

When The Ophthalmic News and Education Network, or simply the O.N.E. Network, launches in late 2007, it will include:

* practice standards

* cases

* presentations

* self-assessment tests with online remediation

* the ability to earn and manage CME 

* educational videos of procedures

* focused news and alerts

* tools to maintain certification resources

* journal articles

* other related materials

Academy members who use the O.N.E. Network will get high-quality information, news and education tools on demand.

"We are very excited about working with the Academy on this ground-breaking project," said Betsy Jones, EVP and GM of journal publishing at Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. "As a leading provider of information for medical professionals, we have unique expertise in both the development of professional content and the online delivery formats that are most appreciated by busy practitioners. Using all of the newest web technologies, we will provide a rich educational experience to Academy members."

Jeff McCaulley, President & CEO of Wolters Kluwer Health added, "medical professionals need constant access to information that helps them maintain and improve their professional knowledge and clinical skills. Both the Academy and Wolters Kluwer Health recognized the possibilities offered by combining rich educational content with interactive web-based applications. The idea to create a comprehensive online clinical education center came from a mutual recognition of the tremendous positive impact that such a tool could have on professional development, quality of care and the dissemination of best practices."

"Providing educational resources is at the heart of the Academy's mission," said Richard Zorab, Vice President for Clinical Education at the Academy. "This Web site addition will give our members a rich and dynamic way to take advantage of the latest educational offerings."

The O.N.E. Network is expected to be launched in late 2007.

About LWW 

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (www.LWW.com) is a leading international publisher for physicians, nurses, specialized clinicians, and students. Nearly 275 periodicals and 1,500 books in more than 100 disciplines are published under the LWW brand, as well as content-based sites and online corporate and customer services. LWW is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information for professionals and students in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry. Wolters Kluwer Health is a division of Wolters Kluwer, a leading global information services and publishing company with annual revenues (2005) of [euro]3.4 billion and approximately 18,400 employees worldwide. Visit www.wolterskluwer.com.

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology

The American Academy of Ophthalmology 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.