Eyeworld

24 | EYEWORLD | SPRING 2024 ASCRS NEWS continued from page 23 part of a greater community of physicians across the country with one singular goal: improving healthcare. Advocacy and young eye surgeons We, as the younger generation within medicine, deserve a voice in the topics that affect us di- rectly and those that soon will. Our perspective at this crossroads between being trainees and having a career is unique. We are affected by changes to medical education and to Medicare reimbursements alike. Additionally, learning this skill early in our careers will only help us grow into well-rounded physicians. With advocacy, we will be able to take care of our patients by not only prescribing the right medication but also ensuring they have little to no out-of-pocket cost. We can improve medical education, ACGME requirements, prior authorizations, reimbursements, scope of practice, and so much more. There is no lack of issues we need to improve in healthcare, and with the right strategies and teams, we can take tangible steps for solutions. Lastly, advocating for yourself and your patients is vital—especially at this stage in our career. For your patients: As physicians, we have a unique role where we are decision-makers who work face to face with patients. All other decision-makers in the healthcare field do not interact with patients (insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, law- makers). Thus, we are the only acting voice for patients. We see the cost barriers firsthand every day. So, when we advocate for improvements, we are advocating for the patients who can't do it themselves. For yourself: We are also affected within this land- scape. Many of the issues facing medicine come down to costs and payments and retaining our jobs, which we went thousands of dollars in debt to obtain. We became physicians to heal people, not to fight insurance companies every step of the way. So, when there are bills about increasing physician payment, we should speak up. When there are bills trying to expand scope of practice for others in the healthcare field taking over our roles as physicians, we must speak up. How to get involved Now, the real question is how to do all this. It's actually very simple, as there are multiple ave- nues to advocate—local, state, national. Every county has a medical society composed of local doctors who address issues that affect their city and county directly and take stances on national continued on page 26 ASCRS and ASOA members who attended the 2023 Fly-In in Washington, D.C. Source: Aaishwariya Gulani, MD.

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