Eyeworld Daily News

EW SHOW DAILY 20 ASCRS News Today Saturday, May 7, 2016 We'll also have to get more savvy from a business standpoint. We are going to be judged more on quality of care and outcomes and patient satisfaction—that's not nec- essarily a bad thing. We also have the opportunity to add more elective services. We're very fortunate that tech- nology is changing so rapidly. Our corporate colleagues still view oph- thalmology as an important area to invest in. We're going to have more people living longer and in need of eye services. With corporate industry investing in more avenues to treat diabetes, glaucoma, and other eye diseases, we're seeing an explosion of new technology for eyecare, such as accommodative lenses, laser-as- sisted cataract surgery, and other modalities for cataract removal, dry eyes, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and microinvasive glaucoma surgery. Physicians will need to stay current with education and evaluate new techniques to see if they make sense for their practice. I'm very bullish on ophthalmology and its future. I think there will be a lot of breakthroughs in the next decade for patients. EyeWorld: What will you focus on specifically during your time as president of ASCRS? Dr. Solomon: First, I want to focus on what we at ASCRS can do to pro- vide value to members. At the end of the day, ASCRS is a society for and by its members. This isn't a society about a couple of opinion leaders. This is about us, our members. Second, I'm looking forward to developing new ways for members to get more involved in ASCRS. I'll be asking members to get engaged and more involved. And last but certainly not least, I want to promote and facilitate the sharing of clinical information, peer to peer, which has been the essence of ASCRS since its inception. We collectively as a large, worldwide or- ganization have a breadth of clinical experience and exposure to a wide range of technologies and surgical techniques. I want to modernize and facilitate how we as members communicate this valuable informa- tion so we can learn from each other for the betterment of our patients worldwide. EW IOL, he or she could use the Cen- ter for Learning to pull up the best videos, articles, and pictures through ASCRS. The best, most comprehen- sive education is now readily accessi- ble to all of our members worldwide. We are also updating how we share information peer to peer with the development of the new 365 App that will include social media. This will help users see where some of the information is at the meeting, but they will also be able to use the app all year long to exchange ideas and information. EyeWorld: What do you see as some of the biggest challenges for ophthalmology in the com- ing years? Dr. Solomon: We have a lot of chal- lenges, but we also have opportuni- ties. The health care environment is changing more frequently than we'd like. Ophthalmologists will need to be more involved with regulatory affairs to speak with one clear voice. We're going to have to stay actively involved to effect change. continued from page 17

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