When asked about his experience as President of ASCRS, Vance Thompson, MD, said that one of the things he’s enjoyed the most in the role has been the support. “From the leaders of ASCRS, ASCRS staff, and our membership, it’s been amazing how it’s like a big family trying to help each other, help our patients, and help our world,” he said.
Dr. Thompson noted his longtime involvement with ASCRS, having served on the EyeWorld Editorial Board, including as the Refractive Editor, the ASCRS Refractive Clinical Committee, including as Chairman, and now the Executive Committee. He said he has been excited to see all aspects of what makes the Society a success.
Source: ASCRS
Dr. Thompson said his major focus as he took on the presidency was to continue to build on the great leadership from those before him. He also wanted to represent the current membership and help grow the Society, while continuing to carry out some of the foundational principles of ASCRS, like education, government advocacy, philanthropy through the ASCRS Foundation, and mentoring young eye surgeons.
He enjoyed getting a look behind the scenes of the Society’s relationship with industry and seeing the large impact industry can have on patients, doctors, practices, and innovation.
One of the main initiatives during his presidency was the Business of Refractive Cataract Surgery (BRiCS) Summit, which took place in September 2024. “While we live in a world of decreasing third-party reimbursement, there is also increasing technology that brings value to patients that third-party reimbursement doesn’t pay for but that patients will pay for,” Dr. Thompson said. “They will invest in their healthcare as long as they see the value and get the value. It doesn’t make sense for practices to be hurting because of decreasing third-party reimbursement and not realize their full patient pay potential of making patients happy with advanced technology while also helping the business of their practice.”
The BRiCS Summit sought to address this by having doctors and administrators share some of their keys to success in this arena. “One of my goals in my presidency was to get ASCRS doctors in the room with ASOA administrators,” Dr. Thompson said. “I know in a practice like mine, one of the keys to our success has been to invest in world-class doctors and business leaders.” It was highly encouraged for both the ophthalmologist and an implementor from participating practices to attend the BRiCS Summit, and Dr. Thompson said he was amazed at the resources shared by the faculty to help patients and practices in this space. The interest in the next BRiCS Summit, which will take place October 3–5 in Chicago, Illinois, has been wonderful, he said.
“The response has been amazing and has led to ASCRS wanting to do the same thing in the glaucoma space,” he said. His vision for the BRiCS Summit laid the foundation for the Business of Interventional Glaucoma, which will take place ahead of the ASCRS Annual Meeting on April 24 in Los Angeles, California.
As president, Dr. Thompson has also enjoyed having a front-row seat working with the ASCRS Clinical Committees in their efforts to bring various forms of education to members, including programming at the ASCRS Annual Meeting, wet labs, white papers, and webinars.
He also highlighted the work of ASCRS Government Relations and the ASCRS Foundation, which both address key pillars of the organization.
Being able to work with the Government Relations team, going to the Fly-In, and seeing the influence of ASCRS in Washington, D.C., was impactful, Dr. Thompson said, noting that these efforts help fight for key issues that are important to ASCRS members, like MIGS reimbursement and prior authorization, which were two big wins for the profession that ASCRS played a central role in.
He said it’s amazing to see what the ASCRS Foundation is doing and the support from physicians. Through Operation Sight and international collaboration, there is the ability to help those who can’t help themselves.
Finally, Dr. Thompson mentioned the ASCRS Annual Meeting, adding that ASCRS is such a well-respected source of education around the world, and he’s enjoyed the opportunity to represent the Society as a whole.
Dr. Thompson is looking forward to the 2025 ASCRS Annual Meeting April 25–28. He noted his leadership role in addressing current events, referencing ASCRS’ response to the fires in Los Angeles, the host city for this year’s Annual Meeting. Dr. Thompson issued a video response on behalf of the Society, sharing support for the greater Los Angeles community, including ASCRS members practicing in that area. He also encouraged members to attend the Annual Meeting as a show of support in the city’s economic recovery effort.
Dr. Thompson expressed his excitement for this year’s programming at the meeting, including the inaugural SightLine at ASCRS on April 24. SightLine at ASCRS will be a gathering of commercial stakeholders working within the ophthalmology space who will come together to discuss and debate the state of ophthalmology, as well as the direction the market is headed, and explore disruptive approaches to financial viability.
Dr. Thompson concluded that being ASCRS President has been one of the true highlights of his career, and he thanked ASCRS Executive Director Steve Speares, the ASCRS staff, and all of his ASCRS colleagues and industry who have so graciously helped him along the way.
