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ASCRS meeting seeks to address future needs of ophthalmology
The meeting will feature specific content targeting young MDs, as well as a symposium highlighting an integrated MD/OD approach to eye care.
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In addition to its usual educational program, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery is placing an increased emphasis this year on reaching out to young ophthalmologists. The meeting will also have a symposium discussing an eye care model to help established practices become more efficient and productive, according to ASCRS leadership.
The meeting, to take place April 4 to April 9 in Chicago, will provide educational content specifically geared for ophthalmologists still in training and those just starting their practices, according to Ocular Surgery News Chief Medical Editor Richard L. Lindstrom, MD.
“A focus of our efforts is to try to create a more valuable educational experience that’s focused on the 30- to 40-year-old, not just the 45- to 60-year-old ophthalmologists,” he said.
In an interview with OSN, Dr. Lindstrom,who is president of the ASCRS, said the need for new physicians is expected to increase in the coming years, not only to deliver care to the aging baby boomer population, but also because of the diminishing number of ophthalmologists entering the field.
The roughly 450 ophthalmologists in training every year in the United States is not keeping pace with the 500 to 550 who are retiring annually. Many ophthalmologists practicing today are baby boomers, so more physicians will continue to retire in large numbers, he said.
“What I anticipate, and what many others who are looking at this objectively anticipate, is that in 5 to 10 years, the demand may well outstrip our capability to serve the needs of our U.S. population with the manpower we have, particularly with the number of ophthalmologists that we have,” Dr. Lindstrom said.
The ASCRS will host a symposium for young physicians and residents, devote an educational track to this physician group and offer other incentives for young ophthalmologists.
ASCRS leadership will also present a symposium discussing an Integrated Eyecare Delivery Model, which refers to a way of streamlining resources to enable practices to see and treat more patients, Dr. Lindstrom said.
The Integrated Eyecare Delivery Model provides a way for ophthalmologists, optometrists, ophthalmic technicians, opticians and ophthalmic administrators to work together in one setting in such a way that practice efficiency is enhanced and the practice economics are improved.
Focus on young MDs
J. Bradley Randleman, MD, chairman of the ASCRS Young Physicians and Residents Clinical Committee and in practice for about 5 years, said the meeting will feature an interactive video symposium, called “EyeTube – Challenging Video Cases for the Young Surgeon,” and other opportunities for younger physicians.
“ASCRS is always such a dynamic meeting,” Dr. Randleman said in a telephone interview. “I think we will continue to improve the offerings that we have for young physicians and residents over the course of the next few meetings, but I’m really excited about what we have to offer them this year. It’s not just geared for the super-specialized cataract or refractive surgeon, but there’s also a lot to be gained by someone just starting out in practice or someone still in training.”
In a telephone interview, OSN Cornea/External Disease Section Member Roger F. Steinert, MD, said the young physicians committee was formed several years ago to specifically meet the needs of physicians just entering into practice or who have been practicing for 10 years or less.
To meet that goal this year, the committee devised the video symposium, continues to run its annual Job Fest with financial and networking assistance to young physicians and, for the second year, features a “Young Physicians and Residents” program track.
That track brings together all the highlights of different specialties at the meeting, to assist younger physicians in deciding what sessions to attend, Dr. Steinert said.
“It really is a tour de force of everything you need to know that’s cutting edge in all the different areas,” he said.
Integrated Eyecare Delivery Model
According to Dr. Lindstrom, one way to address the need for more medical and surgical eye care in the future will be to find effective and creative ways of delivering eye care with existing resources.
The meeting will feature a symposium on the Integrated Eyecare Delivery Model, an ophthalmologist-led integrated eye care delivery system.
In the model, ophthalmologists and optometrists work together to provide high-quality care in an efficient productive fashion. They also work in conjunction with medical ophthalmologists, ophthalmic medical technicians, opticians and ophthalmic administrators, Dr. Lindstrom said.
Practices using the model usually have an ASC and an optical shop, providing eye care from primary through tertiary care. Minnesota Eye Consultants, where Dr. Lindstrom practices, is a successful example of the Integrated Eyecare Delivery Model, as is the Cincinnati Eye Institute, he said.
“I personally think that this model is a robust model,” Dr. Lindstrom said. “It turns out that it’s an economically viable model. Typically, the ophthalmologists in this model are more productive than the average ophthalmologists, and the optometrists in this model are also more productive than the average American optometrist. If you look at surgeon satisfaction and optometrist satisfaction, it seems to be high in this model.”
Paul Karpecki, OD, works as an optometrist in the cornea services and ocular surface disease research at Cincinnati Eye Institute. In an interview with OSN, Dr. Karpecki, who is also co-chair of the ASCRS task force on the model, said he thinks that the integrated system is a “model of the future.”
With a high volume of cataract cases predicted to require surgery in the next 10 years, surgeons will be better equipped to meet that need with the integrated model, he said.
“I think it is a very effective model in the correct setting,” Dr. Karpecki said. “It can synergistically work with primary care doctors well.”
Dr. Karpecki will present at the Integrated Eyecare Delivery Model symposium about his experiences working in a large practice setting. He has worked in the model in the three main settings that will be highlighted at the ASCRS symposium: large practice, small practice and academic settings.
The model works well in all three settings for different reasons, he said. It grants large practices more extensive resources and the ability to divide physicians into specialties.
Smaller practices also benefit from the combined resources of the different skill sets that ophthalmologists and optometrists provide, especially for those physicians just starting out and needing guidance. In academic settings, the model allows physicians to follow patients over extended periods of time, Dr. Karpecki said.
“It would almost be impossible to do that volume of surgery and see all those patients, both preoperatively and postoperatively,” he said. “It allows each of the aspects to be more efficient, to provide consistent patient care and to work as a team.”
For more information:
- Paul Karpecki, OD, can be reached at 580 S. Loop Road, Suite 200, Edgewood, KY 40509; 859-402-2814; e-mail: paul@karpecki.com.
- Richard L. Lindstrom, MD, can be reached at Minnesota Eye Consultants, 9801 DuPont Ave. S., Suite 200, Bloomington, MN 55431; 952-888-5800; fax: 952-567-6182; e-mail: rllindstrom@mneye.com.
- J. Bradley Randleman, MD, can be reached at 1365 Clifton Road, Building B, Suite 4500, Atlanta, GA; 404-778-2264; fax: 404-778-5128; e-mail: jrandle@emory.edu.
- Roger F. Steinert, MD, can be reached at Eye Institute at University of California, Irvine, 118 Med Surge I, Irvine, CA 92697-4375; 949-824-8089; fax: 949-824-4015; e-mail: steinert@uci.edu.
- Erin L. Boyle is an OSN Staff Writer who covers all aspects of ophthalmology.