In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) proposed catastrophic changes to Medicare reimbursement systems that, if finalized, will significantly affect ophthalmology and all specialty care. The impact on cataract surgery reimbursements alone would amount to an 11% reduction in payment.

In today’s episode, host Dr. Andrew Pouw welcomes three guests to discuss these highly complex and concerning cuts: Dr. John McAllister, the Academy’s Secretary for Federal Affairs; Brandy Keys, the Academy’s Director of Health Policy; and Rebecca Hyder, the Academy’s Vice President of Government Affairs. Listen, share, and advocate to help us prevent these changes.

Related Academy Resources:

• Summary of CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
• Impact of the Efficiency Adjustment
• Impact to Indirect Practice Expense (PE)

For all episodes or to claim CME credit for selected episodes, visit www.aao.org/podcasts.

Drs. Prithvi Sankar and Sriram Balasubramanian discuss a personal journey through vision loss, from both the ophthalmologist and patient perspective. Host Dr. Ben Young invites these two friends to share their lessons of grief, denial, and ultimate acceptance of a difficult diagnosis—in this case, retinitis pigmentosa—and what physicians can do to help their patients through these life-changing events.

For all episodes or to claim CME credit for selected episodes, visit www.aao.org/podcasts.

Dr. Bradley Katz joins host Dr. Amanda Redfern to share updates on the diagnostic imaging of optic disc drusen and current research efforts from the Optic Disc Drusen Consortium, an international alliance of researchers focused on optic nerve disorders.

For all episodes or to claim CME credit for selected episodes, visit www.aao.org/podcasts.

Drs. Durga Borkar and Yashaswini Singh join host Dr. Jay Sridhar to discuss their recent publication regarding private equity (PE) acquisition and access to retinal detachment surgery. According to the study, physicians in PE-acquired practices decreased their number of retinal detachment repairs by nearly 20% after acquisition, potentially negatively impacting access to care and patient outcomes.

Discussed in today's podcast: Singh Y, Cardenas GB, Torabzadeh H, Whaley CM, Borkar D. Private Equity-Owned Physician Practices Decreased Access To Retinal Detachment Surgery, 2014-22. Health Affairs. 2025 May;44(5):589-596.

For all episodes or to claim CME credit for selected episodes, visit www.aao.org/podcasts.

Drs. Elyse McGlumphy and Soshian Sarrafpour join host Dr. Andrew Pouw to talk about the range of and reasons for intraocular pressure (IOP) variance, as well as the studies debating its significance for glaucoma.

For all episodes or to claim CME credit for selected episodes, visit www.aao.org/podcasts.

Host Dr. Ben Young invites Drs. Roni Levin and Evan Silverstein to review the current state of amblyopia treatment, ranging from the mainstays of patching and atropine drops to novel advances such as dichoptic therapy.

Below are some references regarding dichoptic therapy that were discussed in this episode:

Xiao S, Angjeli E, Wu HC, Gaier ED, et al. Luminopia Pivotal Trial Group. Randomized controlled trial of a dichoptic digital therapeutic for amblyopia. Ophthalmology. 2022 Jan;129(1):77-85.

Wygnanski-Jaffe T, Kushner BJ, Moshkovitz A, Belkin M, Yehezkel O. CureSight Pivotal Trial Group. An eye-tracking-based dichoptic home treatment for amblyopia: A multicenter randomized clinical trial. Ophthalmology. 2023 Mar;130(3):274-285.

Koc I, Bagheri S, Chau RK, Hoyek S, et al. Cost-effectiveness analysis of digital therapeutics for amblyopia. Ophthalmology. 2025 Jun;132(6):654-660.

For all episodes or to claim CME credit for selected episodes, visit www.aao.org/podcasts.

Drs. John Kitchens and Andy Schimel join host Dr. Jay Sridhar to discuss current and emerging applications for artificial intelligence (AI) relevant to both patients and physicians. The sweeping conversation covers resources for low-vision patients, as well as how large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Gemini can improve efficiency, creativity, and accuracy in a variety of clinical, professional, and other settings.

For all episodes or to claim CME credit for selected episodes, visit www.aao.org/podcasts.

Drs. Chris Conrady and Akbhar Shakoor join host Dr. Ben Young to teach us about why intraocular inflammation (IOI) sometimes occurs after intravitreal injections, how to differentiate these cases from endophthalmitis, and how to manage this potentially blinding condition.

For all episodes or to claim CME credit for selected episodes, visit www.aao.org/podcasts.