ASCRS Foundation Announces National Sight Week
Operation Sight Network Surgeons to Participate in Weeklong Charitable Initiative to Provide Free Cataract Surgery
FAIRFAX, Va. – September 16, 2016 – The American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Foundation is pleased to announce National Sight Week (October 24– 28).
National Sight Week is a week-long celebration of volunteerism, during which members of the ASCRS Operation Sight network are encouraged to contribute one or more charitable cataract surgeries in their own communities. The ASCRS Foundation will work to match needy, eligible patients with volunteer surgeons, and will provide a financial stipend for each surgery completed.
Operation Sight is the ASCRS Foundation’s domestic charitable cataract surgery program. Its mission is to assist uninsured American patients who can’t obtain cataract care on their own. By leveraging the combined strength of established charitable organizations along with ASCRS-member volunteer surgeons, Operation Sight provides needed care to those unable to access or afford surgery.
Stephen Lane, MD, co-chair of the ASCRS Foundation and director of the Operation Sight initiative, explains: “We’ve all seen the heartbreaking photos of cataract blinded patients in the developing world, but many forget that there is a similar need right here at home. Although they often go unnoticed, many poor Americans still fall outside the traditional safety nets. The future is especially bleak for cataract patients who lack private insurance and are not eligible for government care.”
In an effort to broaden the growing Operation Sight network and address a backlog of indigent and/or uninsured cataract patients across the United States, the ASCRS Foundation is encouraging surgeons to join Operation Sight and is helping to match them with needy patients. There is no minimum number of cases required to participate, and the foundation works to generate positive local press for those practices which take part.
“The ASCRS Foundation’s Operation Sight initiative offers a solution for Americans in need by enabling ASCRS eye surgeon members to perform charitable cataract surgeries in their own communities with administrative and financial support from the ASCRS Foundation. Together, we’re working to end preventable cataract blindness in the United States,” says Dr. Lane.
For more information about Operation Sight and National Sight Week, visit ascrsfoundation.org.
The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2003. Through its projects in the United States and overseas, the foundation works to improve physician education and to deliver humanitarian eye care. ASCRSFoundation.org
The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery is an international educational society with more than 9,000 members. Its mission is to advance the art and science of ophthalmic surgery and the knowledge and skills of ophthalmic surgeons by providing clinical and practice management education and by working with patients, government, and the medical community to promote the delivery and advancement of high-quality eye care. ASCRS.org
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OPERATION SIGHT
Goal:
Help to end treatable cataract blindness in the United States by making charitable surgery available to those unable to access or afford it on their own. Program:
Through Operation Sight, the ASCRS Foundation is building a coalition of surgeons, ASCs, and organizations committed to caring for those who could not otherwise afford life-changing cataract surgery. The Operation Sight initiative provides administrative support to pre-qualify patients and financial support to its volunteer surgeons.
How Does It Work?
1. Patients apply to Operation Sight for cataract care. Operations Sight takes responsibility for pre-qualifying the patients and completing the necessary paperwork, reducing the burden on the volunteer surgeon. Operation Sight can also help to coordinate pre-operative care.
2. Operation Sight identifies a participating volunteer surgeon in the patient’s local area.
3. Operation Sight provides a $250 financial stipend to help offset some of the cost associated with providing the charitable surgery.
4. Operation Sight works to provide public relations support to recognize its volunteer surgeons in the communities where they live and work.
How to Participate:
Surgeons interested in participating must register in advance with Operation Sight. Surgeons can join the growing network by contacting Evelyn Morales by email at [email protected], or by completing the registration form at www.ascrsfoundation.org/operation-sight-volunteer-surgeon-registration. All participating surgeons/practices must have a form W-9 on file with the ASCRS Foundation.
Should your practice receive a direct request for charitable cataract surgery, you may refer the patient to Operation Sight for review and pre-qualification. Patients can apply for charitable surgery through the ASCRS Foundation’s website at www.ascrsfoundation.org. This relieves you and your staff from having to make the difficult decision of who qualifies for charitable care.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Will the patient be screened for medical necessity when they come to my practice? If you would like the ASCRS Foundation to source the patients, there may be varying degrees of pre-op testing. Some may have had a full documented exam, while others may have no paperwork. In most instances, practices chose to see the patient in advance and perform their own exam.
Where does the initial exam and pre-op testing take place? It is generally performed at your practice by your staff.
Does the patient supply their own transportation? Yes, the patient is responsible for getting to and from the office/surgery center for both pre- and post-op exams and the surgery.
Where does the surgery take place? The surgery typically takes place at the ambulatory surgery center used by the volunteer surgeon.
What do the surgery center supply? The center provides all supplies associated with the cataract surgery, as well as the staff necessary to support the surgery. Operation Sight will provide a financial stipend for each charitable case as a way to partially offset the cost of providing care.
Is the post-op care in my office? Among the advantages to delivering cataract surgery is that the surgeon and the practice’s responsibility ends following the 90-day period. While the Operation Sight team will explain this to the patient, it is important that the surgeon or staff reinforce the message. Every surgeon can determine his/her own plan for post op care and visits. After the 90-day global period, who then takes over the care? Following the 90-day post-op period, additional care is entirely the patient’s responsibility.
Who pays for/supplies the pre/post-op medications? The ASCRS Foundation provides $250 per case to help offset the cost of charitable surgery. Additional supplies and IOLs may be available through industry-supported Indigent Patient programs.
Who performs surgery on the 2nd eye (if applicable)? If the surgeon would like to do the second eye through the Operation Sight program, the same process applies as with the first. If not, the ASCRS Foundation will seek another surgeon for that patient.
What happens if the initial exam indicates that the patient has another condition, such as glaucoma? At this point in time, the Operation Sight program is only for cataract surgery. If the surgeon determines that the patient is not a good candidate due to another condition, unfortunately, that would fall outside the capability of the program to provide care. The ASCRS Foundation would be willing to work with the surgeon should he/she wish to provide additional care, but that would be on a case-by-case-basis.
Who carries the medical liability of the patient post-operatively? Care through the Operation Sight program is limited to the 90-day global cataract surgery period. The surgeon’s responsibility and liability ends with that period. This is always explained very clearly to the patient.
Have any key vendors offered to support this with supplies? Some industry partners like Alcon offer an indigent patient program that may provide IOLS and supplies. The Operation Sight team can help your center with the application process.
Who can I contact for more information? Contact Evelyn Morales by email at [email protected] or by phone at 703-591-2220.