How ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner aided my transition to a new practice and empowered me to become the highest volume cataract surgeon on-site

Two years ago, I joined the Wolfe Eye Clinic in Iowa as a surgeon who had previously served as a senior partner and lead cataract surgeon at a larger multispecialty practice in central Illinois. The experience I gained in my previous position would, I hoped, smooth over any bumpy roads on the way to transitioning to my new role at the Wolfe Eye Clinic.

One important difference among these two clinics was their use of ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner: My practice in central Illinois did not use VERACITY, and my new colleagues in Iowa timed their adoption of VERACITY with my arrival. In that sense, VERACITY Surgery Planner and I joined the Wolfe Eye Clinic at the same time.

One might think that integrating a new surgeon and a new digital interface at the same time would compound the inevitable growing pains required of both. However, the opposite happened: ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner aided my transition to a new practice, empowering me to become the highest volume cataract surgeon at the Wolfe Eye Clinic within 24 months of joining my new colleagues.   

I credit VERACITY for maximizing my clinical efficiency and increasing my confidence in recommending premium IOL technology best suited to individual patient’s needs. In the analog days of patient consultation, I relied on a printout of the patient’s various biometric measurements. This static piece of paper lead to two realities: less confidence in advising adoption of premium lens technology and a less flexible philosophic approach to patient consultation.

In the pre-VERACITY era, I was far more conservative when it came to recommending advanced or toric lens, as analyzing the potential outcomes from a premium technology required another round of calculation, analysis, and printing. In the interest of efficiency and patient satisfaction, I stuck to recommending technology with which I was most familiar and whose track record alleviated concerns about less-than-ideal outcomes.

The more I used ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner, the more I realized that running real-time calculations involving several technologies allowed me to be more curious and more specific in my IOL recommendations, thereby broadening the spectrum of treatment options I offered my patients and better customizing surgery to fit my patient’s needs. Real-time reconciliation of patient biometric data, formulas, and technology specifications has also led to more efficient patient consultations, and permitted me to spend less time on calculation and more time on face-to-face interactions with patients.

It is impossible to say how quickly I would have been up to speed at my new clinic if ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner had not been a tool aiding my transition. Still, looking back over these past 2 years, I can say with confidence that ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner facilitated a smooth change between practices, improved the quality and efficiency of my patient consultations, and enabled me to become one of my clinic’s highest-performing surgeons within 24 months.

^{The statements of the author reflect only his personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any institution with whom he is affiliated.
The author has a contractual or other financial relationship with Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. and has received financial support.}