Eyeworld

80 | EYEWORLD | FALL 2026 P RACTICE MANAGEMENT by Liz Hillman Editorial Co-Director About the physicians Matthew Brink, MD Brink Surgical Vision Institute North Palm Beach, Florida J. Morgan Micheletti, MD, FACS Executive Partner, Director of Research, and Fellowship Director Berkeley Eye Center Houston, Texas Constance Okeke, MD, MSCE Lead Glaucoma Specialist Virginia Eye Consultants Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology Eastern Virginia Medical School Norfolk, Virginia doing a conference and missing 3–4 clinic days, it doesn't add up. It's sort of a net neutral—and that's fine. You should do it for the enjoyment. That's why I did it, and it's amazing." Dr. Brink recognizes that there are some who are skeptical of industry collaboration, thinking it results in a loss of credibility, "but I think that's cynical." When it comes to speaking engagements, he only speaks about products where he thinks he can bring something to the table—his techniques, expertise, and enjoy- ment. As such, "I feel like it's genuine," he said. "I think there's a lot of skepticism around it. But from the industry standpoint, they benefit a lot from having an MD's credibility, experience, and speaking about real-world uses," Dr. Brink said, noting the value of physician feedback to guide further development of products that help the surgeon and ultimately their patients. Getting involved with industry Dr. Brink said his mentors—Iqbal "Ike" Ahmed, MD, and William Trattler, MD—were hugely influential in encouraging him to go to as many major medical conferences as he could. Seeing their involvement with and impact on industry framed his viewpoint as well. "If you're interested in it, you've got to find someone who's done it and who does it well and ask, 'How do I get a foot in the door?'" Dr. Brink said, noting that early on, one has to be ready to show up over and over again with little to no compensation. T he professional life of an ophthalmol- ogist is packed, from clinic days to surgery days to completing charts and everything in between. So how do ophthalmologists find time to work on projects with industry, be that product devel- opment, clinical trial involvement, or speaking engagements? Why is it worth it for some oph- thalmologists to carve out specific time for such projects and engagements? How does industry collaboration impact the ophthalmic practice as a whole? Matthew Brink, MD, J. Morgan Micheletti, MD, FACS, and Constance Okeke, MD, MSCE, shared their perspectives on all this and more. Why work with industry For Dr. Okeke, industry collaboration is imper- ative to solving problems that ophthalmologists face with their patients. "A lot of ideas come about because we have a problem and we need to figure out a solution to it. Clinicians and surgeons experi- ence firsthand where treatment gaps exist and where patients continue to face challenges. That perspective allows us to identify unmet needs and opportunities for innovation," Dr. Okeke said. "Industry has a huge team. They have engineers, people to manufacture products, the ability to market them, the business sense, the financial backing to take an idea, create it, and put it out there." Dr. Micheletti said he was hooked and ener- gized by the ability to "peek behind the curtain on what's coming next." He said he finds indus- try collaboration fun, and importantly, he noted that when done well, it transforms "real-world clinical needs into better tools, better work- flows, and better outcomes for patients." Dr. Brink said, on the surface, some might think of industry collaboration as an additional revenue stream. While you do often get com- pensated for working with industry, Dr. Brink said the decision to get involved and remain involved should not be money motivated. "You're wasting your time if you think you're going to make a lot of cash," Dr. Brink said, noting that physician income from industry is publicly reported via the Sunshine Act. "When you look at the opportunity cost of going and Balancing practice and partnership: how ophthalmologists engage with industry Dr. Okeke (second from left) participated as a panelist at the Alcon Annual Meeting in June 2024, sharing clinical perspectives and engaging in discussions on innovation, physician education, and advancing patient care in ophthalmology. Source: Constance Okeke, MD, MSCE

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