World Premiere for ZEISS EyeCare Network – for Clear Vision and Healthy Eyes

Aalen, Germany | 3 February 2025 | ZEISS Vision Care

• ZEISS EyeCare Network connects optometry and ophthalmology to help prevent eye diseases
• Eye care services enhance the optical store's offerings, starting in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Most vision loss cases could be more effectively treated or sometimes even prevented with early detection.¹ But in many countries and regions, the number of ophthalmology practices is decreasing even as the needs increase, making regular eye check-ups harder to access for many of us. The ZEISS EyeCare Network links optical stores with ophthalmologists and thus creates access to eye care for consumers when visiting a participating optical store. This innovation helps ZEISS’ customers position themselves as trusted partners in lifelong vision care and eye health and even more importantly, gives every consumer the benefit of early detection of changes to their eye health.

“With the ZEISS EyeCare Network, we expand our offerings for customers to provide consumers with state-of-the-art services focused on clear vision and healthy eyes. It is our strategy to build an ecosystem with devices, apps, and platforms that enable safe, simple, and compliant services for lifelong eye care for all who need visual correction. We want to build bridges between vision care and ophthalmology. With this service, ZEISS helps eye care professionals and opticians position themselves as the preferred partners for consumers,” says Rolf Herrmann, Head of Business Partner Programs and EyeCare Network at ZEISS Vision Care.

The process is quite simple: The optical store remains the most accessible go-to place for consumers. Qualified opticians and eye care professionals explain the importance of preventive care and perform medical eye check-ups in their stores. They use certified devices, like ZEISS VISUREF 1000, which quickly gather the necessary data. This data will then be sent securely to licensed ophthalmologists through the ZEISS EyeCare Network platform, for formal medical evaluation.

After the medical evaluation, consumers will receive their eye health reports via email or mail, using a traffic light system: Green for “No issues found”, Yellow for “See an ophthalmologist soon”, and Red: “Urgent consultation with an ophthalmologist needed”. “For consumers, all that matters is clear vision and good eye health, so when they are already in the store for a vision test or choosing new glasses, then why not also do a quick medical check-up for preventive purposes? That is a real value-add. And for our partners we make it as accessible as possible, for example, also with training and marketing support”, says Herrmann. “We are all used to preventive care and diagnostics for instance for our teeth, yet we take our eyes and our vision for granted, even as the risks are now increasing”, Herrmann continues.

The medical eye check-up aims to detect early changes in eye health. It helps identify diseases like diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma. However, it is obviously not a substitute for a diagnosis or treatment by an ophthalmologist.² “Preventive care is highly important for maintaining good vision and the ZEISS EyeCare Network makes it easy for consumers to take action regarding their eye health”, concludes Herrmann.

The ZEISS EyeCare Network will be available to customers in Germany starting March 1, 2025 and in Austria, and Switzerland in the second half of 2025. In these markets ZEISS partners with Ocumeda, a leading eye care provider in Germany, to establish the network and workflows for participating ZEISS customers. Roll-out in other markets will follow.