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Innovation and unity are central themes at German conference
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Anselm Kampik, MD, delivers his keynote at Deutschen
Ophthalmo- |
NUREMBURG, Germany — Anselm Kampik, MD, said innovations would be a major force on the future of ophthalmic medicine in Germany during his keynote presentation during Deutschen Ophthalmochirugen, held here May 17-20, 2001. Dr. Kampik's lecture, "Vision and Visions — The Future of Germany Ophthalmology" focused primarily on competition German ophthalmologists can and should expect in the near future.
“There will be competition among the best, on a regional national and even international level," Dr. Kampik said to the 4,000 attendees here. "A few days ago I found an ad in The New York Times that said ‘Where you are treated first can make all the difference.’ It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to expect similar ads sometime soon in the large German dailies like the Frankfurter Zeitung or the Suddeutscher Zeitung.”
While innovations necessarily will require a division of labor, “it should never reduce our empathy with the patient, because this is a core responsibility accorded to us as doctors,” he said.
The profession cannot afford to become fragmented and “needs to speak with one voice,” he added. A national organization, in addition to the existing groups, could be modeled on the French, Italian or American academies, he said. A pan-European group is another idea that needs to be considered, Dr. Kampik noted, and this concept is being considered in talks between French and German ophthalmologists. Above all else, he stressed, ophthalmologists across Europe will have to work together "if we don't want to be subjected to further political regulation."
Dr. Kampik also reflected upon the significant increase in attendance at various conferences, which leads to more innovation in the field of ophthalmology. "You can even imagine that the future could be controlled by genetic engineering techniques or new drugs. What might happen if someone introduced a new drug or genetic therapy to treat cataracts? Or, if stem cells can be implanted in the retina, certainly our ophthalmology would change," he said.