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3 ASCRS•ASOA SYMPOSIUM & CONGRESS, BOSTON 2014 ASCRS News Today Sen. Paul continued from page 1 2014 ASCRS continued from page 1 The reason that government is not good at solving problems, he said, is because the government is not worried about spending money because it's not their personal money. "We should try to minimize what government does, and we should try to keep things as much as we can in the private sector," he said. The government thinks that you'll provide better healthcare for patients if you have more codes, Sen. Paul said, speaking against the ICD-10. He said that when he did cataract surgery 20 years ago, there were 1 or 2 forms to sign, noting that now there may be close to 10 or 12. "People think that if there's more paperwork, we're going to somehow get better healthcare," he said. Sen. Paul also discussed the SGR, which he said was a bad policy from the very beginning. If there is a policy that gets repealed every year, you're acknowledging that it was never a good policy. It's based on the idea that healthcare costs are rising too rapidly and physicians should pay for them. If there is going to be a safety net, everyone should pay for it, not just physicians, he said. "The thing is that there's a shortage of money," Sen. Paul said. "I'm doing everything that I can to get rid of the SGR." After he spoke, Sen. Paul answered questions on topics such as innovation and the approval process in the United States, where to go now with the ACA, the Con- gressional gridlock, and physician involvement in the political process. He said that the medical devices tax is going to hurt us and needs to be appealed because he believes it will cause a lot of people to seek options abroad. In terms of FDA approval of drugs and surgical tools and instruments, Sen. Paul said that the U.S. needs to become a worldwide scientific body as far as approving drugs. He recom- mended incorporating more worldwide studies to speed up the process of approvals. He called for term limits to address the Congressional gridlock and emphasized that members of Congress should work together trying to pass legislation on the issues that they do agree on rather than wasting time on the topics that they don't agree on. Following the session, a fundraiser for Sen. Paul was held. EW administrators, and industry part- ners I have worked with who have dedicated time to the profession," he said. In the past year, there have been many developments, Dr. Donnenfeld said, including launch- ing the ASCRS Clinical Survey to re- spond to needs of ophthalmologists and patients and redesigning the website for rapid access to info. There are daunting challenges, like regulations and a government that often acts as a barrier against pa- tients' needs, and Dr. Donnenfeld said that "we cannot allow patient care to go quietly into the night." "I remember hearing during my training that I had just missed the golden age of ophthalmology," Dr. Donnenfeld said. "Today I know better. The golden age of ophthal- mology is right now." "On this 40th anniversary year of ASCRS, the Society is looking ahead not just to follow but to surpass our accomplishments in the next 40 years," he said. ASCRS is the indispensible or- ganization that allows physicians to realize their goals, Dr. Donnenfeld said. "Serving, protecting and ad- vancing our very special profession are things we all care deeply about." Dr. Lewis was unable to attend the meeting due to an injury, but his address was played in a video record- ing. "Our need as ophthalmologists to stay engaged and informed has never been greater," he said. Tech- nology has broadened diagnostic and surgical options. "The world of medicine is evolving and we need to evolve with it." The Honored Guests at this year's meeting are Philip C. Hessburg, MD, Detroit, and Keiki R. Mehta, MS, DO, FIOS, Mumbai, India, and they were both recognized during the Opening General Session. Stephen A. Obstbaum, MD, New York, honored Christine Ford and Emanuel Rosen, FRCS, Manchester, England, for their service to the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery. David F. Chang, MD, Los Altos, Calif., and Steve S. Lane, MD, Minneapolis, discussed the ASCRS Foundation. Beginning next year, Drs. Chang and Lane will serve as co-chairs of the ASCRS Foundation, along with James Mazzo, operating partner with Versant Ventures. The foundation will have 3 new commit- tees, with Dr. Chang leading the committee focused on international work, Dr. Lane leading the domestic agenda, and Mr. Mazzo leading the committee targeting work with in- dustry. Dr. Chang discussed advance- ments of the Robert Sinskey Eye Institute in Ethiopia, which he said is now the largest charitable eyecare provider in Ethiopia's capital. Dr. Lane highlighted a domestic pro- gram that links a network of individ- uals and practices who are willing to accept the occasional patient who would benefit from surgery but can't afford it. The Opening General Session also featured the ASCRS Ophthal- mology Hall of Fame Ceremony for the 2014 inductees, Vladimir P. Filatov, MD, Ukraine, and Theo Seiler, MD, PhD, Zurich, Switzerland. The late Dr. Filatov pioneered corneal transplantation and is responsible for the creation and advancement of new forms of tissue therapy. Dr. Seiler invented corneal collagen crosslinking. EW Martha's Vineyard-based band Entrain got the Opening General Session underway. Entrain combines rock, blues, calypso, and ska with zydeco, jazz, and funk—often within the same song. EW SHOW DAILY

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