Eyeworld

EW NEWS & OPINION 24 March 2017 Chief medical editor's corner of the world by Eric Donnenfeld, MD, EyeWorld chief medical editor A look at what ASCRS provides beyond the meeting, publications, and calculators W hen the going gets tough, the natural reaction is to question the organizations we belong to and the role they play in our professional lives. These are indeed challenging times for most ophthalmologists, and that is why ASCRS and its official maga- zine, EyeWorld, are more vital than ever. Far too many members narrow- ly view ASCRS as being comprised of their most important annual meet- ing, EyeWorld, the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery, and maybe the indispensable online calculators. However, the real story is much more interesting. This month's col- umn is about the important activi- ties ASCRS does behind the scenes— beyond the meeting, publications, and calculators—that allow us to effectively care for our patients. The future of healthcare in Washington is difficult to predict. There are certain policies that have bipartisan support that will be very difficult to change. Our Advocacy/ Governmental Relations Committee, chaired by Brock Bakewell, MD, and ASCRS Director of Government Relations Nancey McCann continue to work closely and pragmatically with Congress to effect real change on behalf of our membership. Over the past year this commit- tee supported and was instrumental What have we done for you lately? continued on page 26 in securing major changes to the implementation of the Medicare Ac- cess and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), successfully fought back against Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) steep cuts to retina and glaucoma procedures, and secured major changes to CMS' burdensome data collection policy for global surgery codes, to name a few accomplishments. ASCRS is also concerned with providing humanitarian cataract surgery in the United States and developing countries through the ASCRS Foundation. Led by co-chairs David F. Chang, MD, Steve Lane, MD, and Jim Mazzo, the ASCRS Foundation operates as the phil- anthropic arm of ASCRS and relies Eric Donnenfeld, MD on the support of industry and individuals to deliver its programs. The international efforts include the operation of the Robert Sinskey Eye Institute in Ethiopia, which treated a record 22,000 patients in 2016, as well as aligning a network of partner organizations focused on addressing the shortage of eye surgeons in de- veloping countries. In the U.S., the ASCRS Foundation's Operation Sight program has provided more than 850 free cataract surgeries for Amer- icans in need. This is only possible because of the extraordinary 248 ASCRS-member volunteer surgeons who give their time and expertise. There are more than a dozen ASCRS committees and subcommit- tees tasked with working to improve the overall membership experience. For example, the Membership Com- mittee, chaired by John Berdahl, MD, is charged with expanding the value of ASCRS' member services, while the Young Eye Surgeons (YES) committee, chaired by Liz Yeu, MD, and Sam Garg, MD, brings refrac- tive, cornea, and cataract surgery education to residents, fellows, and young ophthalmologists through regional meetings, webinars, and a strong online presence. The ASCRS Council of 100 acts as a represen- tative body, providing the society's leadership and staff with important member input on clinical and oper- ational issues, while the EyeConnect Committee works to encourage Ms. Donohoe views EyeWorld's hosting of many events as helpful on several different levels. "I would think it has grown our relationship with industry because in our mag- azine you can place a product ad, which obviously serves a big benefit to the company; but in the EyeWorld events or programs on a promotion- al side, you can actually educate on that technology," she said, adding that it gives attendees the flexibil- ity and freedom to go into more depth on the product. Likewise, it offers attendees the chance to have questions answered on the specific technology and learn about it in detail before actually investing in it, Ms. Donohoe explains. Now, as EyeWorld celebrates its first 20 years, a new educational endeavor is underway. "We recently started doing a year-long approach to education," Ms. Donohoe said. "It goes back to the education on disease states and using our survey to determine where our general membership is now on certain practice patterns, beliefs, or outcome measurements, and gearing the edu- cation to fit our member profile and their needs." Over the next 2 years, this will continue to evolve. "But I think there will always be a need for companies on the corporate side to educate on their technologies as well," she concluded. EW Contact information Donohoe: jessica@eyeworld.org Expanding continued from page 22

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