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ASCRS forms task force to advance collaboration between ophthalmologists, optometrists
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The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery has assembled a task force to investigate and propose ways to advance an eye care delivery model based on collaboration between ophthalmology and optometry, according to a news release.
The Integrated Ophthalmic-Managed Eye Care Delivery Task Force will consider creating new educational tracks at the ASCRS annual symposium in addition to a separate society to address integrated eye care practitioners’ educational needs, the release said. The task force will also conduct a comprehensive membership needs assessment and is expected to offer formal recommendations to ASCRS leadership in coming months.
“The goal of the task force is to find and present the best possible ways to facilitate cooperation between ophthalmologists and optometrists so that we are prepared to meet the needs of the 77 million American baby boomers nearing the age of 65,” Stephen S. Lane, MD, task force chairman and ASCRS governing board member, said in the release. “Today, and in the future, high-quality eye care will require a patient-centric, integrated eye care model in which ophthalmologists, optometrists, technicians, opticians and managers work together in a dynamic setting.”
The task force members are Jeff Azus, OD; Marlane J. Brown, OD, FAAO; Derek N. Cunningham, OD, FAAO; Richard C. Edlow, OD; Howard Fine, MD; David I. Geffen, OD, FAAO; David A. Karcher, executive director of ASCRS; and Douglas D. Koch, MD.