Eyeworld

78 | EYEWORLD | SUMMER 2026 P RACTICE MANAGEMENT Contact Armstrong: Grayson_Armstrong@meei. harvard.edu Chang: rchang3@stanford.edu Hovanesian: johnhova@gmail.com Kitchens: jkitchens@gmail.com Korn: oppeye@sharp.com Loh: jenniferlohmd@gmail.com Rosenberg: ericr29@gmail.com Schallhorn: jschallhorn@gmail.com Weinstock: rjweinstock@yahoo.com When those systems do not connect smoothly, it can create frustration for both staff and phy- sicians. That is why we decided to streamline our workflow through Epic and bring in Apple hardware to support it. Having technology that works together helps us stay focused on patient care instead of system issues. "Epic's built-in analytics have made a big difference in our daily efficiency. It shows how long we spend in each part of the process, from exam room time to surgical turnaround. That information helps us identify where we can im- prove. Self-scheduling and patient portals have also reduced friction and allowed our team to focus on more meaningful work. Virtual scribes powered by AI are promising, too, but they only help if they are integrated directly into the med- ical record system. If they are not, they just add more steps for staff." 'Saves my staff phone time' Jennifer Loh, MD "We have just incorporated a technology called Phreesia VoiceAI. It is part of the patient intake system we use, and now it uses AI to answer our phones. It is effectively a phone tree where pa- tients select an option of whom they would like to speak with (front desk, surgical coordinators, etc.), but if the person at the extension doesn't answer, the patient can leave a message, which then gets transcribed into the portal. Anyone in the portal can view messages and respond to them not only by calling the patient but also by texting the patient via the HIPAA-compliant text system. The messages and our team's re- sponses are then recorded automatically in our EHR. This has tremendously helped streamline calls and also helps us answer and document better as all of our calls are properly document- ed and reviewed in one central location. The VoiceAI system also allows patients to choose a self-scheduling option. If they select this, the VoiceAI texts them a scheduling link they can use to schedule an appointment. This saves my staff phone time as well." 'Focused on patient care instead of system issues' Tommy Korn, MD "About a year ago, we brought all of our elec- tronic health records together into one system with Epic. It was a major change for everyone, but it gave us a single, unified platform that supports cloud computing, mobile access, and AI tools. As Sharp Healthcare's first Chief Spatial Computing Officer, I am now helping our teams explore how immersive and spatial computing can make healthcare more intuitive for both clinicians and patients. "Burnout is a big challenge in medicine, and ophthalmology is especially demanding because our field depends so heavily on technology. In my office alone, I use several machines to cap- ture diagnostic data for every cataract patient. continued from page 77 DIGITAL Jeff Pettey, MD, EyeWorld Cataract Editorial Board member, shared how he thinks digital advances are accelerating across the specialty: "Our most exciting AI technologies will not replace ophthalmologists but will expand our reach, augment our judgment, and help deliver the right care to the right patient at the right time. AI clinical dashboards that aggregate patient histories, examinations, and imaging are already here in their earliest forms, with useful decision support and predictive analytics on the horizon. How we practice will change, and I'm confident in ophthalmology's ability to continually improve care for more lives worldwide."

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