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.
2020 was supposed to be the year ophthalmologists highlighted all of the advances in cataract and refractive surgery and the patients who benefited from advanced technology. Then, in March 2020, the world was turned upside down. Chief Medical Editor Eric Donnenfeld, MD, reflects on this and looks forward.
In December 2020, the FDA authorized two COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use: the first developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and the second by Moderna. Both are mRNA vaccines, and both require two doses spaced several weeks apart. As of February 22, more than 75.2 million doses had been delivered, more than 64.1 million of which had been administered.
Cataract Editor Rosa Braga Mele, MD, shares personal thoughts on the pandemic a year later, including some positive practice adaptations that have occurred as a result.
In light of the pandemic’s push to limit exposure in various medical settings, some ophthalmologists have been considering immediately sequential bilateral cataract surgery (ISBCS) with renewed interest to help get through a backlog of cases efficiently and to ease patient anxiety about coming in for surgical procedures.
Glaucoma Editor Nathan Radcliffe, MD, introduces the topics covered in the section, including early experience with Durysta, how other sustained therapies can benefit the glaucoma patient following cataract surgery, and how glaucoma care can be streamlined to keep everyone safe in the pandemic.
EyeWorld spoke with several glaucoma specialists who discussed changes they’ve noticed in glaucoma as well as in their own practices due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They shared how they’ve adapted to continue patient care and described the changes they think are here to stay post-pandemic.
This may not be the year that COVID-19 “goes away” but rather the year that we use what’s been learned to dig in for the next phase of a longer fight than was ever expected. But even in this still hunkering-down year, practices have to continue to pursue their development plans.
Developing a 2021 medical marketing strategy that is designed to meet the needs of patients in the COVID-19 era requires a change of mindset. Place yourself in patients’ shoes, start identifying relatable 2021 experiences, and convert those into profitable marketing opportunities, as well as chances to improve patient care.
EyeWorld reached out to ASCRS members and members of the EyeWorld Editorial Board to ask how the pandemic has changed practices a year after the historic shutdown of elective medical procedures.
➤ 2021 ASCRS Annual Meeting update ➤ FDA approves new monofocal IOL ➤ First patient dosed in Phase 2 trial for investigational DED therapy ➤ Phase 2a trial initiated for add-on wet AMD therapy