Publication Exclusive: Working with industry as a speaker, investigator and consultant

Over the past dozen years, I have enjoyed working with many ophthalmic companies to design new devices, evaluate and improve current products, and educate fellow physicians about their use. This has given me the opportunity to work with the brightest minds in the industry, meet scores of new colleagues, and travel across the U.S. and the world. Many ophthalmologists, particularly young ones, want to know how to get started working with industry.

Choose your subfield

The principal key is to have passion about a specific subfield of ophthalmology. I most enjoy cataract and refractive surgery, so the vast majority of the consulting work that I do is in that area. I am not as interested in other topics such as retina, glaucoma or oculoplastics, and as such, I do not do any significant consulting in these fields. Find your specific area of interest and maximally develop your expertise beyond what is normally taught in residency and fellowship programs. Your goal is to have an amazing depth of knowledge about a relatively narrow field.

For development of new products, think about what you do in your clinic and in your operating room and decide how to make it better. What instrument designs could be made to simplify a procedure or to make it more accurate with better results? For existing products, start by using them extensively in your practice so that you have hands-on knowledge and experience. When doing talks at large meetings, speak on products that you are actually using. When I speak about my experience with using a specific postop medication, I am coming from the perspective of having used it thousands of times over the course of years. I do not give presentations about products that I do not actually use. Remember that it will take years to build a good reputation, but only minutes to lose it.

Start small and local

A good first step is to get to know the local representatives from the companies, particularly the ones who promote the products that you use the most. Ask them for any recent publications about their products and ask to be put in touch with their medical affairs team. You will be able to understand the clinical trials on a deeper level, and the team can provide you with more studies to strengthen your knowledge about the products and the disease states. Ask about speaking at local programs for the company. If those go well, you may be asked to broaden your reach to regional programs and then national programs. Traveling to other states to speak is an enjoyable way to meet new colleagues, but being away from your practice for a prolonged time may be an issue. Be aware that these sponsored events, often done as dinner programs, are considered promotional, the companies are restricted to speaking only about FDA-approved indications, and you will be limited to the corporate slide deck.

This is in contrast to a continuing medical education (CME) program, which is arranged independently by a third-party educational company with funds often secured from the ophthalmic companies. CME meetings tend to be larger regional or national meetings that can last anywhere from hours to days. At CME meetings, you are free to give your own opinion and method of using the ophthalmic products while being fair and balanced and, of course, disclosing your financial relationships. It is critical that you abide by the rules and regulations for both promotional and CME programs.

Click here to read the full publication exclusive, Back to Basics, published in Ocular Surgery News U.S. Edition, February 25, 2016.