Eyeworld

EW NEWS & OPINION 4 April 2016 degeneration, and microinvasive glaucoma surgery. Physicians will need to stay current with education and evaluate new techniques to see if they make sense for their practice. I'm very bullish on ophthalmology and its future. I think there will be a lot of breakthroughs in the next decade for patients. EyeWorld: What will you focus on specifically during your time as president of ASCRS? Dr. Solomon: First, I want to focus on what we at ASCRS can do to provide value to members. At the end of the day, ASCRS is a society for and by its members. This isn't a society about a couple of opinion leaders. This is about us, our mem- bers. Second, I'm looking forward to developing new ways for members to get more involved in ASCRS. I'll be asking members to get engaged and more involved. And last but cer- tainly not least, I want to promote and facilitate the sharing of clinical information, peer to peer, which has been the essence of ASCRS since its inception. We collectively as a large, worldwide organization have a breadth of clinical experience and exposure to a wide range of technol- ogies and surgical techniques. I want to modernize and facilitate how we as members communicate this valu- able information so we can learn from each other for the betterment of our patients worldwide. EW Contact information Solomon: kerry.solomon@carolinaeyecare.com EyeWorld: What are some of the biggest initiatives from ASCRS? Dr. Solomon: There are several new initiatives. One such area is reaching younger ophthalmologists, which includes supplementing the educa- tional needs of newer residents and some of the educational voids. We also have developed the Young Eye Surgeons (YES) Clinical Committee to respond to the needs of younger ophthalmologists, which may be different from other surgeon groups. This can include addressing needs in practice management, how to begin networking, and how to become more involved in ASCRS. We have developed a wonderful survey to identify educational gaps that may exist. We've developed material to fill those gaps, so our education is becoming more focused based on the needs of senior, estab- lished, and younger members. We've responded to needs from a foundational standpoint (through the ASCRS Foundation) by develop- ing a domestic initiative in addition to our international efforts. We've done a terrific job responding to cataract surgery needs in Ethiopia, but now we're developing initiatives with Operation Sight to provide for patients in the U.S. who have no means and who are visually im- paired. It's a lot more common than you'd think. We hope to roll it out more broadly over the next year. We can screen patients finan- cially or otherwise and provide supplies, base funding, and tools needed to provide care. A lot of these patients fall through the cracks, don't have Medicare, and are younger than 65. The idea is to not only restore vision, but to help these people move forward. There is also work on an initia- tive for LASIK for first responders, who've provided so much to the U.S. This can help improve people's quality of life. This effort has been spearheaded by Eric Donnenfeld, MD. For the ASCRS Foundation work, I want to give Richard Lindstrom, MD, Stephen Lane, MD, David Chang, MD, and Jim Mazzo credit. Dr. Lindstrom was chair of the foundation for many years, and he's handed over the reins to Dr. Lane, Dr. Chang, and Mr. Mazzo. Dr. Lane oversees the domestic efforts, Dr. Chang oversees the international efforts, and Mr. Mazzo manages the industry rela- tions effort. Nancey McCann, ASCRS direc- tor of government relations, and Brock Bakewell, MD, have done a fabulous job with our regulatory needs. One thing we're looking to do is expand the awareness of our regulatory initiatives by sponsoring 5 scholarships to younger ophthal- mologists in their first few years of practice. We will do this by provid- ing an all expenses paid trip to the Alliance of Specialty Medicine Leg- islative Fly-In in Washington D.C. in July. We hope that by exposing younger physicians to regulatory issues, they'll spread the message among peers and find an inter- est and need to get involved and perhaps return the following year. Size matters in terms of voice and fi- nance. We must grow our voice and numbers, and our members must get involved. There is so much going on in health care today, and everyone needs to get involved. I'd also like to mention the incredible work Edward Holland, MD, does as program chair, and the work done by the entire ASCRS staff and Planning Committee each and every year to make the annual meet- ing as informational and interactive as possible. They work tirelessly all year and behind the scenes and deserve a great deal of credit for the amazing educational experience we all have at the annual meeting. Another thing that ASCRS has done is improve how we communi- cate outside the meeting. We started with the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery, which is highly successful. EyeWorld was next, and it's the most widely distributed pub- lication worldwide for eye news. We have a listserv that is part of eyeCONNECTIONS that's really picked up in the past few years. We're also starting to roll out new initiatives that we'll announce at the annual meeting. One such initiative is the ASCRS Center for Learning. We're taking our best information— videos from ASCRS, presentations, posters, articles, etc.—and putting it in a digital library where members can search. Now all of this incredi- ble information will be available in one place. For example, if someone wants to know how to do a glued IOL, he or she could use the Center for Learning to pull up the best videos, articles, and pictures through ASCRS. The best, most com- prehensive education is now readily accessible to all of our members worldwide. We are also updating how we share information peer to peer with the development of a new 365 App that will include social media. This will help users see where some of the information is at the meeting, but they will also be able to use the app all year long to exchange ideas and information. EyeWorld: What do you see as some of the biggest challenges for ophthalmology in the com- ing years? Dr. Solomon: We have a lot of chal- lenges, but we also have opportuni- ties. The health care environment is changing more frequently than we'd like. Ophthalmologists will need to be more involved with regulatory affairs to speak with one clear voice. We're going to have to stay actively involved to effect change. We'll also have to get more savvy from a business standpoint. We are going to be judged more on quality of care and outcomes and patient satisfaction—that's not nec- essarily a bad thing. We also have the opportunity to add more elective services. We're very fortunate that tech- nology is changing so rapidly. Our corporate colleagues still view oph- thalmology as an important area to invest in. We're going to have more people living longer and in need of eye services. With corporate industry investing in more avenues to treat diabetes, glaucoma, and other eye diseases, we're seeing an explosion of new technology for eyecare, such as accommodative lenses, laser-as- sisted cataract surgery, and other modalities for cataract removal, dry eyes, diabetic retinopathy, macular Kerry Solomon continued from page 3 " I want to promote and facilitate the sharing of clinical information, peer to peer, which has been the essence of ASCRS since its inception. " –Kerry Solomon, MD

• Cover