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DAILY NEWS ASCRS VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING ASCRS TWITTER @EyeWorldMag LINKEDIN EyeWorld Magazine INSTAGRAM eyeworldmagazine EDITORIAL CO-DIRECTOR Ellen Stodola EDITORIAL CO-DIRECTOR Liz Hillman GRAPHIC DESIGNER Susan Steury GRAPHIC DESIGNER Katherine Beutner PRODUCTION MANAGER Cathy Stern SALES, SPONSORSHIPS, AND SPECIAL EVENTS Jessica Donohoe Joe Dooley Cathy Stern ASCRS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Steve Speares EYEWORLD MANAGING DIRECTOR Stacy Jablonski Find EyeWorld on social media 4 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | MAY 18, 2020 should answer a COVID-19 questionnaire and have a temperature check upon arrival. She also said to con- sider PCR testing of surgical patients preoperatively and to consider bilateral immediately sequential cataract surgery to decrease the number of visits to the OR and postop visits to the office. Pearl 5: Take care of work family and promote goodwill. In addition to considering patients, Dr. Yeu said that clinic members are anxious. Return to work may be difficult, she said. It's important to provide PPE for clinicians and staff, and Dr. Yeu added that her practice has created more than 1,000 cloth face masks for employ- ees. Mr. Maller discussed "Sharpening Your Business Plan," and "Refining and Right Sizing Your Operating Model." He suggested learning the value of forecasting, employing greater rigor in your decision making, and learning to more effectively align incentives. Some of the content from the presentations was not presented live but was added later in the day. For full foot- age, including the rest of the presentations in the session, see SS-2. Editors' note: The speakers have no financial interests related to their presentations. goodwill that physicians now enjoy. ASCRS and AAO pledge a common focus and strategy, he said, and we must think and behave strategically, and we must act together. During the session, Vance Thompson, MD, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, spoke about "Bringing Back Refractive Cataract Surgery." He discussed adapting your practice to the new normal, highlighting changes in ways to engage pa- tients. Regarding whether the future will see a "totally virtual practice," Dr. Thompson said he doesn't think point of care will change to home instead of in the office. You can't provide a full patient experience and engagement with staff if the patient wants to stay home, he said. Patients want you to do your best, he said, so it's important to explain what can and cannot be done remotely. Things that will be easier to change and address remotely include talking to, educat- ing, and counseling patients. However, advanced testing and exams will prove more difficult to change to remote options. Dr. Thompson said it's smart to map out the patient journey, ensuring that neces- sary education is done ahead of the appointment and forms are filled out. "So much more is happening remotely, and we're getting better at this," he said. He also talked about up- dating the clinic to some of the social distancing standards, like adapting the waiting room so that patients are sitting the appropriate distance apart. Having patients wait outside until their appointment time and eliminating coffee sta- tions/other gathering areas are other important changes that Dr. Thompson addressed. Dr. Thompson shared what he thinks are the keys to bring- ing back refractive cataract surgery: 1. Realize patients still want choice 2. What can be done remotely? 3. What can't be done remote- ly? 4. Explain it well 5. Educate well on premium [IOLs] 6. Safe environment in your center 7. Patient experience Elizabeth Yeu, MD, Norfolk, Virginia, discussed reframing clinic flow in the age of social distancing, offering a number of pearls. Pearl 1: Prepare patients before their visit. Patients are nervous, she said, referenc- ing a query of 5,500 internal patients, 25–50% (location dependent) of which were not ready to come in for office visits. She added that for the elective surgeries at her prac- tice that were on hold (but are now cleared), 2 of 3 patients wanted to further delay sur- gery. She also said to "contact and communicate." Things will look different, so Dr. Yeu said to set expectations with what patients can expect of their appointment. Pearl 2: Reduce face-to- face time in the office. This can be done by digitalizing, virtualizing, and automating processes where possible. Dr. Yeu also said that it will be important to change the examination workflow, which might include splitting longer patient appointments between diagnostics and in-person evaluation with the doctor. She said that changing the frequen- cy of follow-up appointments may be required, and alter- nating follow-ups between tele-health and in-person ap- pointments may be a solution. Pearl 3: Observe the 6-feet distancing rule. In order to maintain these requirements, you should distance equipment and chairs in the waiting room accordingly. Separate check-in and check-out locations will become necessary, and family and caregivers should wait in the car. Pearl 4: Prevent COVID-19 spread. Dr. Yeu said that pa- tients should not arrive more than 10 minutes prior to their scheduled appointment time. Face masks should be worn at all times, she said, and all clinic members and patients continued from page 1

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