ASRS – American Society of Retina Specialists’ Post

The July/August 2024 issue of JVRD is now available. Read on for insights from Editor-in-Chief Dr. Tim Murray on the issue's highlights and access articles here: https://lnkd.in/gXs2gXsS.

𝗔𝗦𝗥𝗦 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗹 𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗨𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 This week, ASRS members and other specialists visited Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to advocate directly to their legislators as part of the annual Alliance of Specialty Medicine Advocacy Conference. Each year, the fifteen member societies of the Alliance bring physicians to Washington to advance shared priorities and speak on behalf of their patients and practices. Among the issues discussed were the need to reform Medicare physician payment to include inflation-based updates and to enact reforms to step therapy and prior authorization that reduce physician burden and protect patients. Physician participants stressed to lawmakers that declining reimbursement and increasing administrative burdens put unsustainable stress on physician practices and may limit access for beneficiaries. #ASMFLYIN

𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗦𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗮𝘂𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗠. 𝗚𝗶𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗦𝗥𝗦 𝗩𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗲 The Foundation of the American Society of Retina Specialists is pleased to announce that Michael Yu, MD, a vitreoretinal fellow at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been selected to receive the 2024 M. Gilbert Grand ASRS Vitreoretinal Fellowship Award. The perpetual award was established by Dr. Grand to expand access to retina specialist fellowship training opportunities by helping offset some of the financial burden incurred by 2nd-year trainees during fellowship. Prior to his fellowship, Dr. Yu attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Engineering specializing in biomedical engineering. He received the Rose Research Award given annually to the top 10 senior research projects at Penn, the Robert J. Holtz Research Award, and the Vagelos Research Grant. He was a finalist in the Penn Bioengineering Senior Design Competition. He received his medical degree from the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and completed his ophthalmology residency at Stanford University. A prolific researcher currently involved in multiple ongoing clinical trials, Dr. Yu has published 26 peer-reviewed articles, ten as first author. He has also written six book chapters and presented at numerous conferences, including the ASRS, the Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting, Bioengineering Research Symposium, Jefferson Sigma Zi Research Symposium, Jefferson AOA Research Symposium, Atlantic Coast Retina Club, Wills lntraocular Tumor Symposium, ARVO, and the International Society of Ocular Oncology. The M. Gilbert Grand ASRS Vitreoretinal Fellowship Award is made possible by the generosity of ASRS member M. Gilbert Grand, MD, and his family, as well as Dr. Grand’s prior retina fellows, colleagues and his patients. The named endowment will generate a perpetual award each year of $2,500 at this time. It has been established to assist retina fellows with the hope that the recipients will be inspired to give back similarly later in their careers. To support the M. Gilbert Grand ASRS Vitreoretinal Fellowship Award, visit https://lnkd.in/grffgcsj and select the M. Gilbert Grand Award from the Donation Category dropdown menu. More information on the award is available at www.asrs.org/GrandAward. To learn more about the Foundation’s activities supporting next-generation retina specialists visit https://lnkd.in/gMZz6wYx.

𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐕𝐄𝐆𝐅 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞; 𝐀𝐒𝐑𝐒 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 Last week, a study published in @JAMAOphthalmology (https://lnkd.in/gyqvcugr), found that more than 96% of retina specialists’ requests for prior authorization to treat patients with anti-VEGF drugs were approved by private payers. The study was led by ASRS Practice Management Committee member Sabin Dang, MD, with data contributed by fellow committee members and other ASRS members’ practices. Despite the exceptionally high rate of approval for prior authorization requests, the study also found that most requests were associated with a delay of care and each request required a median of 100 minutes of clinic staff time. ASRS will use the results of this study to continue our advocacy to reduce the burden of payer tactics, such as prior authorization. If you haven’t already contacted your legislators in support of legislation to reform prior authorization, visit https://p2a.co/fgbvpqb to send an instant, pre-written message. 

The May/June 2024 issue of the Journal of Vitreoretinal Diseases is now available. Access the issue's robust table of contents and subscribe to read full articles today! https://lnkd.in/gJu7-qj9

What's new on the JVRD Author's Forum podcast? Associate editor-in-chief, John T. Thompson, MD, FASRS is one of the featured guests on a new episode of the JVRD Author's Forum podcast. On this episode, Tim Murray, MD MBA, JVRD Editor-in-chief, meets with Dr. Thompson to discuss updates for the application of the 2020 spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) consensus to the preoperative classification of macular hole and other macular pathologies to determine whether SD-OCT classification can be useful in determining visual outcomes. Tune in to explore how this study categorized the VA outcomes in eyes treated with PPV with membrane peeling based on the disease classification using the new consensus based OCT definition. Visit the JVRD Author's Forum webpage (https://lnkd.in/grDQuTi7) or our YouTube channel (https://lnkd.in/gtTw7shF) to watch this and other Author's Forum episodes. Audio episodes are available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast directories.

Cutting Across Continents Webinar Series Continues May 22 Learn how retina specialists across the globe are meeting today’s surgical challenges! Join us for the second in our series of international webinars on Wednesday, May 22, 7:30 – 8:45 PM Indian Standard Time (2- 3:15 PM Coordinated Universal Time). The surgical event will be co-hosted by the ASRS and the Vitreoretinal Society of India. Co-Moderators are Sunir Garg, MD, FASRS, and Yodpong Chantarasorn, MD. Expert Faculty and Topics: ·      Hemanth Murthy, MBBS, MD, FASRS: Bangalore, India -- Diabetic Tractional Retinal Detachments ·      Mallika Goyal, MD: Hyderabad, India -- Fibrin Glue to Successfully Close Retinal Breaks in Complex Retinal Detachments ·      Mudit Tyagi, MS, FASRS: Hyderabad, India -- Endoscopy In Retinal Surgeries ·      Dharmesh K. Kar, MD, FASRS: Mumbai, India -- IOFB Management ·      Alay S. Banker, MD: Ahmedabad, India -- Dealing With Difficult Posterior Hyaloid and PVR Membrane Dissection Follow this link to register (bit.ly/ASRS-May-22-Zoom) or visit https://lnkd.in/gmjfPy6M for a downloadable flyer!

Don't miss the ASRS 42nd Annual Scientific Meeting, July 17-20 in Stockholm, Sweden!   The preliminary 42nd Annual Scientific Meeting program is now available at https://lnkd.in/emA4Eur. First, browse the schedule at a glance and then click the blue button at the top of the schedule to view the full meeting program with presentation titles and authors. *Please note that the online meeting program will continue to be updated to reflect additional details as they become available.   If you have not yet registered, now is the time! Visit https://lnkd.in/gSmMWUzh to register today.

A Message from ASRS – American Society of Retina Specialists President, Reginald J. Sanders, MD, FASRS: If you haven't registered already, I invite you to join us in Stockholm, Sweden, at the Stockholmsmässan Convention Center, July 17-20, for the 42nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Retina Specialists.    The ASRS Annual Meeting is retina's North Star -- a global forum where leading minds assemble to share scientific and technological advancements that chart our course forward. The meeting helps keep us at the forefront of our rapidly evolving field, allowing us to provide the highest quality care to our patients.    Abstract submissions have again reached a record level. ASRS Annual Meeting Program Chair, Dr. Geoffrey Emerson, has assembled a tremendous program including 160 papers, 189 posters, nearly 100 live and on-demand cases, and 113 papers on demand. The meeting will also feature 4 case conferences (medical and surgical) and the return of expert panels where talks on similar topics will be grouped and delivered in a rapid-fire format followed by time for in-depth discussion.    Please take a look at the preliminary program today (https://lnkd.in/eD4_FUg) and register to secure your spot. (https://lnkd.in/eYhMd-K)   I think we can agree that collaboration and information sharing are fundamental for driving progress in medicine. I look forward to seeing you at the meeting's many networking opportunities where you will surely enjoy connecting with colleagues and friends both old and new from around the globe.    Reginald J. Sanders, MD, FASRS (Reggie Sanders) ASRS President   #ASRS2024 #Retina #RetinaSpecialist #RetinaScience #RetinaResearch