The 36th International Congress of the European Society of Cataracts and Refractive Surgery (ESCRS) took place 22 to 26 September 2018 at the majestic Messe Prater Wien exhibition centre in Vienna (Austria).

The congress hosted several simultaneous events, such as Official Sessions, Sponsored and Non-Sponsored symposium, free-papers presentations and interactive sessions broadcast by different Viennese operating rooms, during which ophthalmologists from all over the world discussed the problems they face on a daily basis in the clinic and operating room.

There were also many seminars for young ophthalmologists that offered a real update on cutting-edge diagnostics and therapy of different eye, macular, retinal and Glaucoma diseases.

A common and widely discussed topic was antimicrobial resistance; a problem that endangers patients’ health and operating procedure safety. There was unanimous agreement among speakers and auditors on both the need to reduce the use of antibiotics and to encourage their more rational and justified use, trying to minimise empirical or ‘do-it-yourself‘ therapies as much as possible.

In addition, there was a lot of talk about the need to properly manage the influence of the digital world and social networks in current clinical practice, as well as within the doctor-patient relationship.

This additionally supports our commitment to the dissemination of Digital Health in support of all Italian Ophthalmologists.