Eyeworld Daily News

APRIL 22, 2022 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | 3 ASCRS ANNUAL MEETING DAILY NEWS practicing ophthalmologists with the skills they need to provide the highest level of care. Over the years, the soci- ety grew to be the leading educator for any anterior segment surgeon. ASCRS has engaged our trainees to introduce them to the field, advocated for our profession and our patients, prolifer- ated the best clinical practices, and provided education for our colleague administrators and support staff, all for the benefit of patients. What's special about ASCRS is the focus on the anterior segment surgeon and the needs that our patients have. We are starting to branch out and work with groups that are pursuing evidence-based research to change the practice. We'll always be the best educators, but instead of just educat- ing on what the standard of care is currently, the society is moving toward becoming one of the forces to positive- ly influence where that standard goes. We are one of the forces evolving what that standard of care is rather than just reporting on it. EyeWorld: Any closing thoughts? Dr. Rhee: We're all still emerging from the global pandemic and are part of various societal and world events that are shaping our society and our mind- set. As part of our society's evolution, how we choose to be educated and convene with our colleagues has been evolving. ASCRS held the first and very successful virtual meeting when the pandemic began. Also, it was the first in-person meeting to take place when it became safe to do so. I fully expect our society will continue to engage our members to provide the multiple mo- dalities and venues that they want to best serve their educational needs. Dr. Rhee: Number one, it was the peo- ple. I felt that the organization valued my contributions and participation. Second, the ethos of ASCRS and the educational content that we provide is very cutting edge and practical. It hits the button of innovation, but ASCRS is also incredibly practical. It's informa- tion that I can take home immediately after returning from the meeting and apply to the benefit of my patients and my practice. So many of the techniques that I routinely employ were learned from my colleagues at ASCRS. EyeWorld: What have been some of ASCRS' highlight initiatives in recent years? Dr. Rhee: Consistent with our mission of being to educate, advocate, and donate, our first mission is always to educate, and we have had great success with providing practical and cutting- edge information. I think that we do a great job with hands-on, skills transfer courses, consistent with that education- al mission. ASCRS has also provided multiple venues at the national and regional level and at times in collaboration with international, like-minded societies to provide a collegial and convivial atmo- sphere to exchange information. In terms of advocacy, we need to have the infrastructure and support in order to deliver best practice medical care. I think ASCRS has been a leader in advocating for the benefit of our patients and our practitioners. Furthermore, the domestic and international branches of the ASCRS Foundation have directly benefited thousands of patients within the U.S. and tens of thousands both directly and indirectly internationally through our numerous endeavors over the years. EyeWorld: What do you hope to focus your time on as president? Dr. Rhee: I think that our field con- tinues to face both the direct effect of the global pandemic and also some of the secondary effects, which in- clude a nationwide labor shortage affecting ophthalmology along with numerous sectors within our economy. In addition, we have had changes to reimbursement and regulation that im- pact our ability to provide the best and highest level of care in an efficient and safe manner. I'm hoping that during my tenure as president, we will be able to bring to fruition the culmination of some initiatives that have been ongo- ing for several years, in particular those utilizing science and evidence to im- prove the care of our patients, improve accessibility to the best treatments, and provide the best value for our patients. We also hope to increase con- sciousness of the environmental impact the practice of ophthalmology has and positively improve that footprint. There are two initiatives that I hope will come to fruition: our continued progress in developing a standard of care for endophthalmitis prophylaxis following cataract surgery and provid- ing evidence to study the safety and need to reduce unnecessary waste. We will continue to work with the various state and federal legislative bodies to optimize equitable access to the best level of eyecare for all the patients we have the privilege to serve. EyeWorld: What do you see as the future of ASCRS? Dr. Rhee: Since our founding in 1974, the organization has been at the leading edge of cataract education and has made a commitment to educating continued from page 1

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