EyeWorld Today is the official daily of the ASCRS Symposium & Congress. Each issue provides comprehensive coverage editorial coverage of meeting presentations, events, and breaking news
Issue link: https://daily.eyeworld.org/i/124062
8 Sunday, April 21, 2013 EW SHOW DAILY ASCRS News Today Mackool to give Innovator's Lecture on "Humans, Happiness, and the Wonder of New" by Cindy Sebrell ASCRS•ASOA Director of Public Affairs Richard J. Mackool Sr., MD T his year's Charles D. Kelman Innovator's Lecture will tackle the topic of human ingenuity. Drawing on parallels between what inspired us to send astronauts to the moon and advances in ophthalmology, Richard J. Mackool Sr., MD, will examine humans' innate ability to seek out and meet daunting challenges. Although ophthalmology has changed dramatically since Dr. Mackool's first exposure to the specialty, he said the intellectual process that facilitated those changes remains the same. The need to clearly identify medical and surgical challenges and to maintain a healthy dissatisfaction with the status quo are essential to medical practice. More importantly, a constant battle against complacency— against allowing "good enough" to be good enough—is essential to every aspect of life, Dr. Mackool said. Dr. Mackool is the founder of the Astoria, N.Y.-based Mackool Eye Institute, the first ambulatory surgery center in New York, and the innovator behind many cataract surgical techniques and instruments used today. He has been granted approximately 125 patents, both in the United States and internationally, for inventions relating to cataract extraction, phacoemulsification, and IOL designs. Other significant contributions by Dr. Mackool to the field of ophthalmology include performing the first simultaneous phacoemulsification and pars plana vitreoretinal procedures, conception of the first combined phacoemulsification-vitrectomy instrument, the first ultrasonic tip designs that eliminated leakage at the incision and the angulated flare tip, participating in the development of the design of the first acrylic IOL, and being the first surgeon to insert the lens. He is also the originator of a number of other surgical techniques. Dr. Mackool completed his residency at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in 1973, where he served as the director of resident training until 1975. He has performed more than 50,000 ophthalmic microsurgical procedures, including thousands of corneal transplants, and glaucoma and vitreoretinal procedures. An experienced author, Dr. Mackool has written numerous medical publications on cataract extraction and IOL implantation. In 2011, he created "Mackool Online," a quarterly internet publication of ophthalmic procedures performed by himself and guest surgeons. Dr. Mackool was the founding member of the board of the Outpatient Ophthalmic Surgical Society. Each year, ASCRS honors an individual whose innovative ideas have benefited ophthalmologists and their patients. The lecture and medal were established in 1985. Lecturers include some of the world's most prominent pioneers in ophthalmic surgery. In 2002, ASCRS renamed the Innovator's Lecture the Charles D. Kelman Innovator's Lecture in recognition of Dr. Kelman's lifelong contributions and innovations. The Innovator's Lecture will be held Monday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in Hall D of the Moscone Center. After a series of talks on recent ophthalmic innovations, Dr. Mackool will give his lecture. EW Government Relations Session to provide healthcare reform insight by Vanessa Caceres EyeWorld Contributing Writer M ake sure to attend today's Government Relations Session to discover the role of physician leadership in healthcare reform. The annual Government Relations Session will be held from 11 a.m. to noon in Hall D of the Moscone Center. It will feature the talk "Physician Leadership for Healthcare Reform," led by Mark B. McClellan, MD, director, Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform and Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair in Health Policy Studies, Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. Mark B. McClellan, MD At the center, Dr. McClellan's work focuses on promoting highquality, innovative, and affordable healthcare. A doctor and economist by training, he also has a highly distinguished record in public service and in academic research. Dr. McClellan is a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where he developed and implemented major reforms in health policy. These include the Medicare prescription drug benefit, the FDA's Critical Path Initiative, and publicprivate initiatives to develop better information on the quality and cost of care. Dr. McClellan chairs the FDA's Reagan-Udall Foundation, cochairs the Quality Alliance Steering Committee, and sits on the National Quality Forum's Board of Directors. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He previously served as a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers and senior director for healthcare policy at the Bush White House and was an associate professor of economics and medicine at Stanford University. EW