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EW NEWS & OPINION 18 June 2017 How do they make money? Castle Connolly vows that doctors "cannot pay to be listed." Doctors' information is free to patients if their doctor is affiliated with a hospital that buys into Castle Con- nolly's "Partnership for Excellence" program. This program costs a minimum of $11,000 according to a 2012 investigative report by ABC News. Spending more, hospitals can certification, hospital appointments, administrative posts, professional achievements, and malpractice and disciplinary history. Castle Connolly admits that "ultimately, however, it is the professional judgment of the Castle Connolly editors, the Chief Medical and Research Officer and the research staff, which deter- mines Castle Connolly Top Doctors selection." promote individual departments. A hospital employee interviewed by ABC confessed that a senior admin- istrator offered a $300 American Express gift card to the first 100 doctors who nominated their peers for top doctor awards on the Castle Connolly website. That's a cool $30,000. To investigate physicians unaffiliated with partner hospitals, patients can purchase a "Premium Membership" for $24.95 for 13 months or its latest book for $34.95 on Amazon. Other organizations are not as virtuous. TopDocs.com, a subsidiary of MJD Patient Communications, claims not to rank doctors in any way. A spot on their website is avail- able to any physician paying the membership fee. Initial costs range from $1,500 to more than $10,000 with an additional four-figure fee annually. Ignoring its name, CEO Michael Dougherty told ABC, "we are not inferring in any way that the doctors in the site are top doctors." Might patients? Mr. Dougherty asserts that he "has never had any- body say they are confused about it." Another cash cow for these companies is the plaques, awards, and trophies selected doctors are encouraged to purchase to exhibit to their patients. Costs range from $100 to several hundred dollars. Even Castle Connolly is reported to receive a share of sales of these tchotchkes. So, who are the Best Doctors? The ones I know are modest, confi- dent, and too secure to covet vacu- ous superlatives attached to their ti- tles. In the November 15, 2012 issue of The Atlantic, Richard Gunderman noted that, because of distortion and oversimplification intrinsic to the process, "patients sizing up a physi- cian will be ill-advised to base their assessment on billboards, television commercials, and airline magazine advertisements." The "Best Doctors"? This is a farce, a bogus burlesque reeking of lucre and aggrandizement. It is unworthy of our noble calling, and its adherents do our profession and patients a gross disservice. EW Editors' note: Dr. Noreika has been a member of the ASCRS for more than 30 years. He is the Best Ophthalmol- ogist living at 1011 Lombard St., Philadelphia. Contact information Noreika: JCNMD@aol.com checkout counter magazines, news- paper inserts, waiting room walls, and websites. Among more than a dozen enterprises offering "Best" awards, Castle Connolly has been around since 1992. It solicits physicians "through various media channels." According to the company's web- site, its staff scrutinizes a nominee's medical education, training, board 888-myLENSTAR myLENSTAR.com © 2017 Haag-Streit USA. All Rights Reserved. The LENSTAR LS 900 includes the new Hill-RBF Method, and is a remarkably easy to use all-in-one IOL power calculation tool. - Warren E. Hill, MD, FACS Mesa, Arizona Exclusive Rights To The Hill-RBF Method LENSTAR LS 900 is the only biometer that has this innovative technology built in.* Barrett & Olsen Formulas on Board Measured lens thickness and two of the latest generation multivariable IOL formulas allow for IOL power prediction with the LENSTAR. T-Cone Toric Platform The optional T-Cone complements LENSTAR'S measurement pallet with true Placido topography of the central cornea along with a powerful surgical planner using the Barrett toric calculator. EyeSuite IOL Toric Planner The optional IOL Toric Planner allows optimization of the incision location and planning of the surgery on real eye images to reach advanced refractive results. *The Hill-RBF Method is available on the Lenstar LS 900 Pro and LS 900 Pro with APS models. "LENSTAR delivers exceptionally accurate axial length, anterior chamber depth and lens thickness by optical biometry. Its dual zone autokeratometry feature is precise and uniformly consistent. The LENSTAR is an excellent choice for surgeons migrating towards torics and other premium IOLs where highly accurate outcomes are critical for success." - Warren E. Hill, MD, FACS Mesa, Arizona Trophy continued from page 17

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