Moving from Just “Thinking Outside the Box” to Doing

In his interview at the 2020 American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, the influential author Malcolm Gladwell recounted the many ways in which the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic has held an unflattering mirror up to the deep inequities that exist in our society. He challenged medical professionals to do more to help underserved communities—not just by volunteering their individual services, but to actively find creative solutions to address major health disparities and to improve patient outcomes on a larger scale. 

This comment from HIP Investigator Dr. Yao Liu highlights the difficulties for the field of ophthalmology when we greatly broaden our view to include the most vulnerable in our society.