What ASCRS does

ASCRS (American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery) is a U.S. nonprofit professional medical society founded in 1975 and headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, that serves anterior segment surgeons — ophthalmologists specializing in cataract and refractive surgery — along with early-career members through its Young Eye Surgeons (YES) program and underserved U.S. cataract patients through its humanitarian program. The organization operates across three stated pillars: Education, Advocacy, and Philanthropy. Its core technology is an online platform delivering clinical education resources, proprietary IOL (intraocular lens) calculation and formula tools, and clinical registries (TASS, HORV, TPSS) for tracking surgical outcomes and adverse events; the CME 24/7 catalog and a global members2.ascrs.org portal provide year-round self-service access to webinars, grand rounds, on-demand presentations, CME credit tracking, and practice management guidelines.

ASCRS monetizes through five recurring streams: membership dues, annual meeting and event registrations (Annual Meeting, Subspecialty Day, ASCRS Live! Dinner Series, ASCRS Business Summit), CME activities and certifications, industry partnerships and sponsorships (including EyeWorld advertising), and charitable donations channeled through its wholly-owned philanthropic arm, the ASCRS Foundation. The Foundation's flagship program, Operation Sight, connects uninsured and underinsured Americans with volunteer surgeons for no-cost cataract surgery. Adjacent businesses and brands include eyePAC (political action committee), JCRS (peer-reviewed journal published with Ovid), and a partnership with the ASOA Career Hub serving ophthalmic administrators. Governance is by a board and member volunteers; Zaina Al-Mohtaseb, MD serves as Chair of the ASCRS Foundation.

The society operates as a membership-based community with a global online footprint and concentrated U.S. event presence. Industry sponsor relationships with device and pharmaceutical companies in the anterior segment space are an important commercial dependency, while foundation donations and member dues provide recurring nonprofit support. ASCRS holds no external investors, has no disclosed acquisitions or funding rounds, and is not publicly listed.

Name

ASCRS

Legal name

American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery

Website

https://ascrsfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ASCRS is a U.S. nonprofit professional medical society founded in 1975 that serves anterior segment surgeons through CME education, proprietary IOL calculation tools, clinical registries, policy advocacy, and the ASCRS Foundation's Operation Sight humanitarian cataract program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Professional Society / Ophthalmology Education and Advocacy

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Ambulatory Surgery Centers (Ophthalmic/Outpatient Eye Surgery) (HLAKAKAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Single-Specialty ASCs (HLAFAIAB)

Keywords

• Ophthalmology professional society
• Cataract refractive surgery education
• Continuing medical education
• IOL calculation tools
• Ophthalmic advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Fairfax

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Professional society membership fees from ophthalmologists and eye surgeons seeking clinical education, advocacy representation, and networking opportunities
2. Annual Meeting & Events: Revenue from ASCRS Annual Meeting, Subspecialty Day, ASCRS Live! Dinner Series, and ASCRS Business Summit attendance fees
3. CME Activities & Certifications: Continuing Medical Education programs including Satellite CME, on-demand presentations, and CME certification fees
4. Industry Partnerships & Sponsorships: Industry partner relationships, advertising (EyeWorld publication), and sponsorship programs supporting foundation initiatives
5. Foundation Donations: Charitable donations to ASCRS Foundation supporting Operation Sight and international humanitarian ophthalmology programs

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ASCRS is a nonprofit professional medical society that serves anterior segment surgeons through clinical education (CME programs, webinars, grand rounds), annual in-person meetings, proprietary IOL calculation and toric calculator tools, clinical outcome registries, regulatory advocacy (MACRA, Medicare reimbursement), and philanthropic humanitarian cataract surgery via the ASCRS Foundation's Operation Sight program.

Product overview

ASCRS is a professional medical society for anterior segment surgeons, not a traditional product company. Its offerings include clinical education programs (CME activities, videos, webinars, grand rounds), the annual ASCRS meeting, IOL calculation and toric calculation tools, patient registries (TASS, HORV, TPSS), the ASCRS Foundation philanthropy (including Operation Sight charitable cataract surgery), ASOA Career Hub for professional development, and advocacy resources. The ASCRS Foundation operates as a distinct sub-brand focused on humanitarian ophthalmology. The IOL calculators and registries function as specialized clinical tools rather than a unified software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Operation Sight: Flagship charitable cataract surgery program serving uninsured and financially vulnerable Americans
• eyePAC
• EyeWorld
• JCRS

Products and services

• ASCRS Clinical Education and CME 24/7 Platform Comprehensive continuing medical education platform covering cataract, cornea, glaucoma, presbyopia, refractive, and retina subspecialties through videos, webinars, grand rounds, presentations-on-demand, and the CME 24/7 catalog. Members earn and claim CME credits and access certificates and transcripts through the member portal.
• ASCRS Annual Meeting Annual in-person conference with educational sessions, subspecialty programming, sponsored satellite CME, exhibit hall, and post-meeting resources accessible through the Annual Meeting On Demand archive for members and attendees.
• IOL Calculation Tools Suite Proprietary suite of ophthalmic calculators used for pre-operative planning in cataract and refractive surgery, including Post Refractive IOL Calculator, Barrett Toric Calculator, Barrett True K Toric Calculator, Barrett Rx Formula, AstigmatismFix, Hill-RBF Calculator, Astigmatism Double Angle Plot Tool, IOL Calculation Formula Analyzer, and Corneal SIA Tool.
• Clinical Outcome Registries Patient registries including the TASS Registry (toxic anterior segment syndrome), HORV Registry, and TPSS Registry for tracking surgical outcomes and adverse events reported by member surgeons.
• Operation Sight Charitable Cataract Surgery Program Charitable program delivered through the ASCRS Foundation that connects uninsured and financially vulnerable U.S. patients with volunteer ophthalmologists and care teams for no-cost sight-restoring cataract surgery and post-operative care.
• ASCRS Membership Professional society membership for ophthalmologists and eye surgeons, including tailored tiers such as the Young Eye Surgeons (YES) program, granting access to CME, clinical calculators, registries, the JCRS journal, EyeWorld news, advocacy resources, and the member portal.
• ASCRS Live! Dinner Series Regional in-person dinner programs providing intimate educational settings and clinical content for practicing anterior segment surgeons between the annual meetings.

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of patients receive sight-restoring surgery annually through Operation Sight

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Alcon: A leading global ophthalmic medical device and pharmaceutical company; a major ASCRS industry partner and sponsor, with overlapping interest in cataract/IOL clinical education and practice economics.
• International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS): A refractive surgery-focused international organization operating under the AAO umbrella; provides overlapping refractive surgery CME and competes for the same subspecialty interest group.
• Bausch + Lomb: A major ophthalmic medical device and pharmaceutical incumbent serving cataract and refractive surgeons; competes for industry partner and sponsorship relationships with ASCRS.

Direct peers

• American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS): A U.S.-based specialty society following the same professional society model (membership, CME, annual meeting, advocacy) for retina specialists; structurally and operationally comparable to ASCRS.
• American Academy of Optometry (AAOpt): Adjacent eye-care professional society offering CME, advocacy, and fellowship credentials; competes for optometrists and ophthalmologists at the boundary of optometric and ophthalmic practice.
• Outpatient Ophthalmic Surgery Society (OOSS): A society representing ophthalmic ambulatory surgery centers; addresses the ASC-specific operations, reimbursement, and regulatory needs of the same cataract/refractive surgery ecosystem ASCRS serves.
• American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO): The largest U.S. ophthalmology professional society, offering overlapping CME, advocacy, and publications across all ophthalmology subspecialties; competes directly with ASCRS for member attention and industry sponsorship dollars, but with broader scope.
• American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA): Partner society focused on practice management and administration for ophthalmology practices; offers the ASOA Career Hub in partnership with ASCRS and competes for the same practice-level engagement.
• European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS): The principal European counterpart to ASCRS serving the same anterior segment surgeon community; offers comparable annual meeting, CME, and clinical education, making it the closest international peer.

Regional players

• Asia-Pacific Association of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (APACRS): The regional society for cataract and refractive surgeons across the Asia-Pacific region; competes for the same anterior segment specialists outside the U.S. and offers similar CME programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ASCRSFoundation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ascrsfoundation5463
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ascrs-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/ascrsfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ASCRS