Eyeworld Daily News

14 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | JULY 24, 2021 ASCRS ANNUAL MEETING DAILY NEWS to out-patient procedures, the utilization of non-covered services to provide optional additional benefits for patients (premium IOLs for cataract surgery, refrac- tive surgery). He added that technology and lessons learned from the pandem- ic have the potential to enhance the reach and care for a broader group of patients. Dr. Rhee also highlighted tele-glaucoma. "We are used to synchronous visits," he said, seeing patients, doing all of their testing, and discussing results and formulating a plan at the same time. But he noted that telehealth has a high satisfaction with patients and providers, and for 2022, CMS has requested contin- uation of codes until the end of 2023. Telehealth codes are here to stay, Dr. Rhee said. He added that in terms of tele-glaucoma diagnostics, there could be a move to asynchronous visits where data acquisition may be done, in the near future, at a remote location (perhaps with only a technician), and the review of data and discussion with the patient may be performed remote- ly at a later time. Further into the future, he said there's potential for this data collection to be done at home with portable testing. In terms of therapeutics in tele-glaucoma, Dr. Rhee said there are already a number of technol- ogies today that can mitigate the need for adherence to daily med- ication regimens. There may an earlier role for less destructive cil- ioablative procedures, he added, and there is a near continuous pipeline of other sustained-release implants. Incisional surgeries con- tinue to advance toward greater efficacy and enhanced safety with greater sustainability, Dr. Rhee said. MIGS, he said, was a game changer with regard to patient safety, and the next generation of MIGS are getting us closer and closer to the ideal balance of effi- cacy and safety. In conclusion, Dr. Rhee said the future of glaucoma is very bright. But he thinks there will be significant hurdles, requiring adaptation and use of technology and innovative thinking. Editors' note: Dr. Rhee has finan- cial interests with Aerie, Allergan, Bausch + Lomb, Glaukos, Ivantis, and Ocular Therapeutix. Keynote lecture looks at future of glaucoma care D uring the Glaucoma Day program, Douglas Rhee, MD, gave a keynote lec- ture on the "What Might the Future of Glaucoma Care Look Like." He first discussed trying to predict the future of the business of glaucoma. Instead of being able to rely on clinical data or scientif- ic studies, it involves putting the crystal ball to work, he said. He discussed both good news and bad news on this topic. The bad news, relating to individual and group practic- es, he said, is there will be the net effect of revenue pressures. Expenses will grow faster than reimbursement rates will increase, he added. With pre-pandemic practices, how much more opera- tionally efficient can we be? In terms of education, Dr. Rhee said that equal site payments for surgical reim- bursements between ASCs and hospitals have the strong poten- tial to negatively impact training. Additionally, he said that this could curb the total supply of trainees, the experience level of future trainees, or both. Individu- al practices will likely have to be involved in training their future partners, he said. He also mentioned the likely elimination of fee for service and a move toward population health management. These two things don't necessarily have to be bad, he said. However, the good news, he said, is that "we are the most innovative field in medicine with regard to business operations." He noted the shift from in-patient Dr. Rhee presents "What Might the Future of Glaucoma Care Look Like." Source: ASCRS

• Cover