Browse articles from EyeWorld.org related to pandemics. EyeWorld is the award-winning member publication of ASCRS. The magazine provides news and updates from the Society as well as clinical features in the areas of cataract, refractive, cornea, glaucoma, and practice management. It publishes quarterly with editorial direction from its medical editorial board and staff.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, ophthalmic practices turned to telemedicine to stay in contact with patients and get them the care they needed. In this article, two physicians discussed their experience with telemedicine, including how they saw its applications evolve and thoughts on the future potential of telehealth options.
Scott Gottlieb, MD, former FDA commissioner, spoke at the 2021 ASCRS Annual Meeting in July 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada, giving an overview of the state of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time, providing insight on how the nation got to where it was at that time, and sharing his thoughts on how the country could reduce its risk in the future.
While many ophthalmologists have instituted protocols to help reduce the risk and spread of SARS-CoV-2, Terrence P. O’Brien, MD, has added another adjunctive preventative measure to his regimen: a dilute povidone-iodine drop for his patients and himself after in vitro studies confirmed virucidal effect against SARS-CoV-2.
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Terry Kim, MD, served as ASCRS president for the past year, a year full of unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. He reflected on his year as president, the challenges and how ASCRS addressed them, important initiatives, and more.
Rosa Braga-Mele, MD, Cataract editor, introduces some of the articles in the issue and shares what she is most excited about at the upcoming ASCRS Annual Meeting.
While in recent months mask use has been relaxed somewhat as health guidelines are updated to reflect increased vaccination status and declining case numbers, there are situations where mask wear continues. These have been credited with playing a role in saving lives, but they have been associated with some unintended ocular consequences as well.
Finding and hiring great employees has always required the ability to balance the “mostly science” of recruitment and the “mostly art” of selecting a finalist. Adding in a pandemic has shaken up the process further.
Looking at the yearlong impact on eyecare in 2020 allows practices to revisit and rearrange priorities to maintain healthy, stable, and durable ophthalmic businesses capable of generating pre-pandemic revenue levels, which many have yet to reach.
Practice communications with patients were already moving toward digital when possible, but the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced reduced in-office time and sought to eliminate physical touchpoints, pushed slow adopters forward.