EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/1021247
10 September 2018 EW ASCRS NEWS positive. We think we can add value in efficiency metrics with OR time and patient throughput. Now to ignore the cost pressures would be a miss. These pressures will come whether customers band together or the government decides to pay less for a particular procedure. Most of the groups I have met with are very aware of the opportunity that presents with advanced technolo- gies. They realize if they can train staff and enjoy a greater penetration of ATIOLs where we're helping the patient and patients are getting the kind of outcome they're looking for, that is a much bigger economic im- pact to those groups than anything else they could do. Mr. Speares: Is there anything we have not covered that you'd like to communicate to the readers of EyeWorld? Mr. Endicott: I think the most im- portant thing I want to get across is that I am super excited about where we are at this point in time. We have the opportunity to remake this com- pany as a separate entity now that we can focus on what we do best, which is innovation. The way we do innovation best is when we listen to customers. We're talking with the nursing staff, technicians, and surgeons about how our products are working and what we can do to make our products work better. I am excited for that cycle because I grew up in ophthalmology and I remem- ber it from years ago. I know what it looks like when you do it right and it runs well, and so do the employ- ees of this company. The excitement in the employee base around the world for a reinvigoration of the new Alcon is high. I think people are excited to go back to the things we know and enjoying the relationship with the customer. In the end this is where it is. Our customers get up in the morning and they go to work to try to help people see better, and I think that's a big deal. When we can work directly with the people who do that in a way that is produc- tive, we can do extraordinary things together. EW Contact information Endicott: wes.warnock@alcon.com Speares: sspeares@ascrs.org real value gets created. Wherever people are doing eye surgery, that's where we're shipping product. Mr. Speares: In the past 2 years you have made a significant investment in your clinical support operations to aid customers. How satisfied are you with this initiative, and will it continue to expand following the spinoff from Novartis? Mr. Endicott: We are proud of what we've done with the field services engineers and the clinical appli- cations specialists. These are two groups that, when you step back and ask, "What is the real benefit of doing business with Alcon?" here is an example. We have by far the largest service organization in ophthalmology. We have more than 1,200 service engineers and another several hundred people in our clin- ical applications group. We have an exciting support vehicle for surgeons interested in getting into the newest technologies. We had some great equipment, but some of it we didn't service as well as we needed to, we didn't do as much hand holding with customers in the early phases, we didn't do our training well enough, and sometimes we weren't even deployed as well as we could have been, so that's been a positive impact we've made in the last 2 years. We had an independent third party survey to measure customer satisfaction with service, and we're best in class when it comes to both field service and clinical support. Mr. Speares: We have recently seen news items question the true value of LASIK. Alcon enjoys the market leading position in refractive laser procedures in the U.S. Are there any plans to drive PR or other initiatives aimed at getting your message out to the broader public? Mr. Endicott: Yes, in fact we think it is a responsibility for us getting out and getting more active, and having a larger voice about the benefits and the many positive stories we know are being experienced by LASIK patients. As we begin the process of becoming autonomous, we're going to be able to dedicate more resourc- es to these types of initiatives. Of course in LASIK the vast majority of the revenue sits with the physicians. I think it is incumbent upon all of us that we get the message out and we keep up the positive PR, especial- ly from the surgeons performing this valuable procedure. We need the sur- geons to take the lead on LASIK like they did in the past. This is a great story to tell, and we need everyone banding together to help tell it. Mr. Speares: Another market dynamic is the growth in buying groups, and with more and more practices opting to be acquired by private equity, how will Alcon adapt to a larger number of clustered cus- tomer groups? Mr. Endicott: We are aware of that trend and we are staying close to it. We have dedicated corporate sales groups and key accounts groups to support these larger custom- er groups. We see this trend as a EyeWorld interview continued from page 3 ACRYSOF ® IQ TORIC IOL IMPORTANT PRODUCT INFORMATION CAUTION: Federal (USA) law restricts this device to the sale by or on the order of a physician. INDICATIONS: The AcrySof ® IQ Toric posterior chamber intraocular lenses are intended for primary implantation in the capsular bag of the eye for visual correction of aphakia and pre-existing corneal astigmatism secondary to removal of a cataractous lens in adult patients with or without presbyopia, who desire improved uncorrected distance vision, reduction of residual refractive cylinder and increased spectacle independence for distance vision. WARNING/PRECAUTION: Careful preoperative evaluation and sound clinical judgment should be used by the surgeon to decide the risk/benefit ratio before implanting a lens in a patient with any of the conditions described in the Directions for Use labeling. Toric IOLs should not be implanted if the posterior capsule is ruptured, if the zonules are damaged, or if a primary posterior capsulotomy is planned. Rotation can reduce astigmatic correction; if necessary lens repositioning should occur as early as possible prior to lens encapsulation. All viscoelastics should be removed from both the anterior and posterior sides of the lens; residual viscoelastics may allow the lens to rotate. Optical theory suggests that high astigmatic patients (i.e. > 2.5 D) may experience spatial distortions. Possible toric IOL related factors may include residual cylindrical error or axis misalignments. Prior to surgery, physicians should provide prospective patients with a copy of the Patient Information Brochure available from Alcon for this product informing them of possible risks and benefits associated with the AcrySof ® IQ Toric Cylinder Power IOLs. Studies have shown that color vision discrimination is not adversely affected in individuals with the AcrySof ® Natural IOL and normal color vision. The effect on vision of the AcrySof ® Natural IOL in subjects with hereditary color vision defects and acquired color vision defects secondary to ocular disease (e.g., glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, chronic uveitis, and other retinal or optic nerve diseases) has not been studied. Do not resterilize; do not store over 45° C; use only sterile irrigating solutions such as BSS ® or BSS PLUS ® Sterile Intraocular Irrigating Solutions. ATTENTION: Reference the Directions for Use labeling for a complete listing of indications, warnings and precautions. © 2018 Novartis 7/18 US-TOR-18-E-1605