Digital Health
Terms of Reference
Terms of Reference for the Digital Health Special Interest Group
1. Overall Responsibility
1.1 The Digital Health Special Interest Group (the ‘DH SIG’) has delegated authority on behalf of the Council of the ESCRS to:
1.1.1 develop strategy to promote the public availability of high-quality archives of clinical data for analysis in relation to research in cataract surgery, refractive surgery, and anterior segment disease through liaison with academic, industry and other stakeholders; commissioning of consultancy advice, and structured calls for project development.
1.1.2 promote awareness of key developments in digital healthcare research through symposia and other educational events.
1.2 The DH SIG acknowledges that the Council retains overall control and responsibility for activities which have been delegated by the Board of Trustees and that it shall not usurp the Council’s overall decision-making authority by taking decisions without proper authority.
2. Composition, attendees, quorum and reporting
2.1 The DH SIG will ordinarily consist of 12 members: 5 ESCRS members (including a minimum of 2 elected Council Members, 1 member of the Research Committee and 1 member of the EUREQUO Steering Committee), 3 lay representatives (with digital health expertise), 1 US digital health representative, 1 Trustee (non-voting), the Managing Director and Finance Director (non-voting).
2.2 Unless otherwise agreed by the Council, the number of members on the DH SIG shall not exceed 12.
2.3 Unless otherwise determined by the Council, the Chair of the DH SIG shall be a Council Member.
2.4 Any additional Trustee or member of the Executive may attend a meeting of the DH SIG (but may not vote on a matter).
2.5 Until otherwise determined by the Council, a quorum for meetings shall consist of 5 members of the DH SIG, which must include the Chair or an elected member of the Council deputising as Chair, the Trustee, and either the Managing Director or the Finance Director.
2.6 The DH SIG shall meet a minimum of 4 times per year either virtually or face-to-face, with additional meetings as required to ensure progress on objectives.
2.7 The DH SIG shall provide a full written report to the Finance Committee and the Council (which in turn shall report to the Board of Trustees) on an annual basis.
3. Main objectives
3.1 Through liaison with academic, industry and other stakeholders; commissioning of consultancy advice, and structured calls for project development, the DH SIG will promote research leading to the creation high-quality open access datasets for digital healthcare research in cataract surgery, refractive surgery, and anterior segment disease.
3.2 In parallel, the DH SIG will run a symposium at the Annual Congress highlighting key developments in digital healthcare research.
4. Participation
4.1 DH SIG members should:
4.1.1 attend four physical or virtual meetings each year and attend additional meetings as required;
4.1.2 actively contribute to delivering the objectives of the DH SIG; and
4.1.3 be prepared to give at least 4 hours work per month to DH SIG activities.
4.1.4 maintain a declaration of interests in line with ESCRS policy for sub-committee members.
4.2 Membership of the DH SIG requires significant time commitment. Before accepting such responsibilities, each person should assess their existing commitments to work and any other societies.
4.3 The maximum term of service for DH SIG members (excluding the Trustee and ESCRS management representatives) is 4 years, renewable for a further 4 years (giving a maximum total term of service of 8 years) subject to majority approval by the other members of the DH SIG and the General Purposes Committee.
4.4 The maximum term of service for DH SIG members as chair is 2 years, renewable for a further 2 years (giving a maximum total term of service of 4 years) subject to majority approval by the other members of the DH SIG and the General Purposes Committee.
5. DH SIG Chair Duties
5.1 The DH SIG Chair is responsible for:
5.1.1 meeting reporting deadlines;
5.1.2 providing an annual written report, which will be collated by the Managing Director and Finance Director for the Finance Committee and the Council;
5.1.3 delivering on the financial goals established by the budget and escalating financial requests where required; and
5.1.4 the organisation of the agendas and meetings of the DH SIG.
5.2 The Committee Chair should be prepared to give 6-8 hours per month to Committee activities.
6. Decision making
6.1 All decisions, action points, delegations and timelines will be agreed and recorded at meetings of the DH SIG.
6.2 The DH SIG will work by consensus to ensure that its decisions reflect the combined expertise of its members. The DH SIG will endeavour to arrive at all decisions by unanimous agreement. When this is not possible, the view of the majority will prevail and will be adhered to by all members.
6.3 DH SIG members are obliged to disclose any conflicting interests and recuse themselves from discussion and voting where these interests could be perceived to be relevant. Where it is uncertain whether a conflict of interest might exist, advice will be sought from the Ethics Committee.
6.4 Neither the chairman nor any other DH SIG member presiding as his/her deputy shall participate in any vote unless votes of the other members are equally divided, in which case he/she shall give a casting vote. Voting will be conducted using Slido or a similar anonymised electronic instant voting system.
7. Reporting
7.1 The DH SIG shall ensure that all acts and proceedings of the DH SIG, including written minutes of all DH SIG meetings, are reported to the Council promptly and prior to each meeting of the Council, or as required by the Council.
8. General
8.1 The DH SIG members shall adhere to the terms of the ESCRS’s Standing Orders, as amended from time to time.
8.2 The DH SIG shall review annually its terms of reference and its own effectiveness and recommend any changes to the Council.
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Approved by the Council:
Effective from: