Thinking Beyond the Surgery Room

Clinical trial spotlights. Surgical pearls. Skills labs. Visual optics courses.

ESCRS Congresses encompass a wide variety of approaches to exploring the clinical aspects of anterior segment surgery. From hands-on training to panel presentations to expert symposia, these annual meetings offer something for ophthalmologists at all stages of their medical careers.

For surgeons interested in the operational success of their practice or department, ESCRS has a more focused solution: the ESCRS Leadership, Business, and Innovation (LBI) initiative. The latest LBI offering was a practice management workshop in June in Zurich, Switzerland, devoted to financial operations and artificial intelligence applications. The workshop was conducted in partnership with the Trinity College (Dublin) Business School Executive Education Programme, which is consistently ranked as a leader in executive education by the Financial Times.

The workshop attendees included not just doctors but also staff whose roles are essential to improving operational efficiency, streamlining processes, and achieving better patient outcomes.

“I decided to participate because, as a manager, I’m always looking to learn more about healthcare management,” said Vera Rodrigues, operational director at Clinica Oftalmologica Dr Miguel Sousa Neves in Portugal. “This opportunity was good to learn a little bit about finances and a lot about AI. I learned how to use and create images with AI, which is very important nowadays when working with social media.”

Interaction and engagement

One key to the success of the workshop was the interaction between presenters and attendees. Another key was the mindset of those in attendance—a mindset characterised by curiosity, pragmatism, and cautious optimism.

“In Zurich, I engaged with decision makers—owners of private practices and department heads—who think beyond the surgery room,” said Vanessa Foser, a co-founder of the AI Business School, who presented at the workshop. “They saw AI not as a diagnostic revolution, but as a practical assistant in daily workflows, from automating doctor letters to multilingual patient communication via avatars. Their questions were often managerial: ‘How do I integrate this with my PMS?’ or ‘How do I train staff and maintain data safety?’ That mindset is different from a pure clinical AI curiosity—it’s business transformation with a medical compass.”

Paul Rosen, chair of the ESCRS LBI Committee and one of the organisers of the workshop, said he was especially pleased with the interaction between presenters and attendees.

“It worked extremely well because everyone was engaged,” he said. “People were asking questions of each other and contributing, and the speakers were very interactive.”

The LBI Committee is helping organise another workshop in November that will focus on marketing. In the meantime, the committee is offering a day-long “LBI Bootcamp” at the 2025 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, comprising three sessions: (1) Podium Presentation Skills, (2) The Foundation of Success: Your Team, and (3) Strategies for Success.

The committee also produces occasional videos/podcasts on business topics. The latest, “Marketing Your Services,” is available on the ESCRS website along with other LBI resources.

Creating immediate value

Rodrigues said she would be interested in attending another LBI workshop if the topics are pertinent to her job and career. “I would like to learn more about leadership and financial topics but especially specifics for healthcare management, human resource management, and possibilities of growing,” she said.

The desire to grow—and to incorporate AI tools into practices and processes to help spur growth—was common among workshop attendees.

“There was a strong interest in use cases that create immediate value, especially for overworked admin teams,” Foser said. “Risks like data privacy were discussed, but the overall tone was, ‘We need to start using it and at the same time minimise company risks.’ That’s a very healthy, entrepreneurial attitude.”

Given the rapid evolution of AI and its potential uses (and misuses), Foser tried to strike a balance between current capabilities and enduring lessons.

“While the tools evolve rapidly, some principles remain timeless,” she said. “Ultimately, the timeless truth is this: Practices that embrace AI as a strategic enabler, not just a tech experiment, will shape the future of patient care and practice leadership.”

Tips for Implementing AI Tools

At the Practice Management Workshop in Zurich, Vanessa Foser shared these simple tips for implementing AI tools in surgical practices:

• Start small, but smart. Begin with low-risk, high-impact use cases like documentation or translation. Learn from those before scaling.

• Build literacy across your team. AI doesn’t replace your staff; it empowers them—but only if they understand how to use it responsibly.

• Don’t outsource your judgement. Always question AI output, especially in medical environments. Think of AI as a co-pilot, not an autopilot.

• Create governance early. Even for small pilots, set clear guidelines for data use, validation, and communication. This builds trust and reduces risk later.