REIMS
The Richmond Eyeglass Inventory Matching System (REIMS) was created specially for the ASAPROSAR Visual Health Program:
REIMS is freeware and can be downloaded from the Friends of ASAPROSAR web site:
http://www.asaprosar.org/our-impact/visual-health/
Download the Manual (PDF) and the full program (Zip File).
The program is named REIMS (Richmond Eyeglass Inventory Matching System) for the late Dr. Phil Richmond, optometrist who was co-founder of the New England chapter of VOSH and the late Howard (Skip) Charles, computer scientist. It was developed for the Friends of ASAPROSAR (Asociacion Salvadoreña Pro Salud Rural — Salvadoran Association for Rural Health). It was written in FoxPro 2.6 for Windows version 7.64 and runs on all platforms with some adaptation.
Friends of ASAPROSAR began supporting the activities of Dr. Vicky Guzman whose mission was to improve the health of poor Salvadorans in Santa Ana, El Salvador during the civil war. As the war neared its end in 1989 a core group of optometrists and ophthalmologists were given assurance of safety to conduct the first eye clinic in El Salvador. This January 2015 it will be 26 years that Friends has annually conducted missions to provide eyeglasses, medical treatment and eye surgery tor the indigent of El Salvador. At first the inventory of recycled glasses and readers numbered in the 3000’s. As the program grew by 1995 the inventory increased to 10,000. Finding an appropriate match for patients became a lengthy process until a computer program called REIMS was invented. No longer were recycled glasses categorized by prescription. Instead they were entered into a database by serial numbers. After it was found to be successful in 1996 VOSH chapters and other humanitarian groups began computerizing recycled eyeglasses.
The most labor-intensive part is entering the inventory. Importing data from other computers made it possible for the work to be divided which is done between annual campaigns. Once the inventory has been entered, REIMS is ready to find the best match. Matching can be done for either or both eyes. If one pair cannot be found for distance and close vision, the program can look for two pairs. Backup and restore features make for fast and simple work. A spare computer is always on hand.
Over the years, additional features have been added as work in the field is observed. Dispensed glasses are recorded so that inventory is replenished between annual clinics. The main task is to find the best match for each Rx. Entering the Rx in a screen like the one below does that. It is simple and straightforward enough that any of the dispensing team can do it. The program keeps track of how close it comes to the exact prescription. A Philscore of zero is a perfect match (named after Phil Richmond). If the prescription has a high Philscore the glasses are custom made.
In 2005 VOSH/International recognized Phil Richmond and Skip Charles as Humanitarian of The Year.
