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stand that staff is the more significant cost
factor, you also realize there's no good reason
to skimp on equipment. Most importantly,
there is absolutely no reason to cut corners
on providing the best patient care possible.
4
Educate patients and
don't limit your caseload.
The most challenging cases are
patients who have complications from dia-
betes. The abnormal blood vessels that form
as a result of diabetes often bleed and scar,
and the scar tissue then pulls on the retina,
causing it to tear and detach — what's called
a combined traction rhegmatogenous retinal
detachment. But patients need to understand
that they're better off having this delicate sur-
gery in a highly specialized center that has the
best equipment and the best staff. They're bet-
ter off dealing with people who know this dis-
ease as specialists at every level, from the
physician to the nurses to the technicians to
the front desk staff. In short, where the care
provided is simply better. OSM
Dr. Dugel (
pdugel@gmail.com
) is a managing part-
ner of Retinal Consultants of Arizona and a founding
member of the Spectra Eye Institute, as well as a clini-
cal associate professor at the Department of
Ophthalmology, Keck School of Medicine, at the
University of Southern California.
O P H T H A L M O L O G Y
