Collaboration—a mutually beneficial partnership that leverages the resources, expertise, and creativity of all involved parties to accomplish a common goal—has long been considered a solid strategy to maximize the potential for creating winning solutions. Today, however, collaboration is more than just a strategy; it is key to maintaining a competitive edge and pushing the boundaries of innovation.

For these very reasons, most companies, including those in the eye care space, team up with practitioners as a means to strengthen their market share, give their products greater reputability, and, ultimately, expand the scope of patient care. This collaboration is equally fruitful for practitioners, who as opinion leaders can quickly advance among the ranks of their peers and contribute thoughts and ideas on a larger scale beyond what they could in their individual practices.

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Opinion leaders also act as liaisons between industry and their fellow professionals, and they often influence the opinions and practices of these others. But they also appreciate and acknowledge the insights of their peers, finding commonalities in the wants and needs of eye care professionals and figuring out with industry how to deliver solutions to these problems.

In this issue’s cover focus, we present the thoughts of 10 well-known opinion leaders in ophthalmology and discover the keys to and benefits of successful collaboration with industry.Within this anthology of collaboration, one common theme resonates: There is no such thing as the perfect model for an opinion leader, and everyone brings something unique to the table. Maybe it is this fact that helps ophthalmology remain one of the top specialties in health care.

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We on The editorial team at Bryn Mawr Communications, affectionately referred to as BMC by many of you, have also benefitted from similar collaborations. Working with you over the years and relying on your expertise to help drive the content of this publication has helped us to reach the common goal of advancing patient care.

We’re also leveraging the momentum that comes with the New Year and getting more creative to help bring CRST Europe to new heights. We are standing strong on the foundation that we have built over the years, but we are injecting new life into the publication by incorporating bolder layouts, including more thoughts and opinions from our readers, and presenting articles that provide answers to the questions on the minds of every ophthalmologist today. In all these efforts, our goal is to remain at the forefront of clinical relevance.

I hope that you enjoy our new look and will continue to depend on us as your go-to resource for peer-to-peer education in ophthalmology.

Laura Straub
Editor-in-Chief