Concierge cataract surgery may provide answer to future financial, logistical challenges
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NEW YORK — The future of cataract surgery in the U.S. may involve divergent pathways in order to accommodate increasingly common “add-ons” without devaluing the procedure as a whole, according to one speaker here.
“We have lots of ways that we can add benefit and quality to cataract surgery through the years,” Kendall E. Donaldson, MD, MS, said during a presentation at OSN New York discussing the logistics of concierge cataract surgery.
In addition to being simple enough for some physicians to offer in-office procedures, cataract surgery now often includes additions such as astigmatism and presbyopia correction, postoperative IOL modification, drop elimination, alternative sedation and same-day bilateral procedures.
“What do we do with all of this, and how do we not devalue our cataract surgery by making it so simple that we can do it in our office?” Donaldson said.
Potential solutions may include changing legislation, creating new safety standards, removing financial obstacles to same-day surgeries, removing physician liability obstacles when operating on the second eye, continuing the improvement of IOL technology and creating two pathways for the future of cataract surgery, Donaldson said.
“Some of the mechanisms to reduce cataract surgery cost to the country include office-based surgery, even physician extenders during parts of our surgery, bilateral same-day surgery, loss of the IV and anesthesia team, and possibly creating two divergent pathways to pass the cost from the government to the patient by utilizing these upgrades to create concierge cataract surgery as opposed to routine cataract surgery,” Donaldson said.
“I think these pathways may become even more divergent over the next 10 years,” she said.
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Donaldson KE. Cost considerations and logistical management of the expanding scope of “add-ons” for cataract surgery. Presented at: OSN New York and OSN New York Retina; Oct. 15-17, 2021; New York.
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