Part 5: Ask the Experts: What problem in ophthalmology do you wish there was a solution for?

This series features experts in ophthalmology sharing their thoughts on the one unsolved challenge they wish there was a solution for.

Video Transcript:

Editor's note: The below transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Michael Singer, MD:

Blindness. So honestly, my number one–and that sounds really trite. But personally, what drives me slightly crazy is when I when I see people with a cane and a dog. I really want to believe that with all the things that we've done, we're going to be able to make a difference. There are companies on the horizon, I've been involved with actually, that I do believe are going to start that process to help free patients who spend their lives and can't see. And then, obviously, for a larger population, can we do something to reverse macular degeneration, which, of course, especially geographic atrophy, which really turns our patients lives and makes it significantly more miserable because they lose their independence.

Alfredo A Sadun, MD, PhD:

I mean, I'm struck by a couple of the things that are most frustrating to us, and basically they're things that get between us and the patient. When we have an intimate relationship with the patient, we feel energized and happy and positive, and when we don't, we get burned out. And I think the major cause of burnout is not overwork, it's distance from the patient. So electronic medical records are clearly one of the things that doesn't work for us. It gets between us. And I am lucky enough to have residents and fellows as scribes, but I have a rule that you can't look at the computer while you're in the patient room, because the patient has to see my eyes at all time, and the patients comment on that; Wow, you're the first person who really talked to me, and not to the computer. So I advise strongly finding ways to stay connected. It's not only good medicine, it's good for your psychological well being

Weijie Violet Lin, MD, ABO:

I wish that we were able to get data out of electronic medical records more easily in order to perform research. If there were some way to extract it in a more automated process, if EMRs were just more inter connected and able to be integrated. I think that would really do wonde