NEW YORK—Dr. Mikhail Varshavski, the social media influencer known to his millions of followers as “Doctor Mike”, will share insights about today’s digitally-connected consumers/patients and their need for accurate, up to date healthcare information with attendees of the Vision Monday Global Leadership Summit. He will open the first Summit session, which will look at consumerization of healthcare as a major trend that is upending delivery of service, distribution of information and patient-doctor relationships. “Doctor Mike personifies the trend of doctors speaking directly to consumers and patients, using tools like broadcast plus social media to address their concerns, deliver useful information and shed light on their own interest in taking care of themselves and their families,” said Marge Axelrad, SVP and editorial director of the Vision Monday Group.

A multifaceted board-certified family medicine physician, Doctor Mike is also a media personality, educator, writer, and philanthropist. With over 9 million subscribers, he is one of the most influential medical educators in the digital era.

Emigrating from Russia to New York at the age of six, Doctor Mike grew up to pursue his medical degree at the New York Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Life Sciences and a Doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine with honors by the age of 24. During his residency, Doctor Mike decided to document his journey and share his medical learnings with the internet.

Over the next few years, he garnered over 430 million views, making his platform one of the largest in health education. Leveraging his media presence and impact in the medical community, he covers the importance of health literacy while simultaneously battling misinformation in a practical, yet entertaining approach.

Doctor Mike’s popular YouTube channel landed him recurring features on network TV programs like GMA, Live W/ Kelly & Ryan, Rachael Ray, and The Doctors. He regularly contributes to esteemed publications including Women’s Health, Men's Health, Reader's Digest, American Academy of Family Physicians Blog, and MedPageToday. He has further established himself in the field of digital healthcare and medicine, presenting seminars and lectures for the TEDx Conference, Mayo Clinic, and many more.

In 2015, Doctor Mike expanded his outreach when he launched his charity, "The Limitless Tomorrow Foundation," an organization that seeks to financially support and give back to students in need. Additionally, Doctor Mike has strong ties with several other philanthropic organizations including Stand Up 2 Cancer, AmeriCares, and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

The Vision Monday Global Leadership Summit is an exclusive live event that will be held March 25 at The Times Center in New York. Now in its 14th year, the VM Leadership Summit attracts senior industry executives, optical retailers, leading eyecare professionals, suppliers and key opinion leaders from the worldwide optical industry. The program, “The Future of Healthcare: Beyond 2020,” will illuminate the dynamic changes coming on stream in the healthcare field and examine the opportunities for vision care and optical to play a broader, more significant role in it.

Click here to learn about other speakers at the VM Summit.

To learn more about what attendees will learn at the VM Summit, watch this video featuring Axelrad and VM’s Andrew Karp.

Essilor, Luxottica and VSP Global are Platinum Sponsors of the 2020 VM Leadership Summit. Gold Sponsors include CareCredit, EyeCarePro, GPN, The Vision Council, Patch and Think About Your Eyes. Alcon and Ocuco are Silver Sponsors.

Registration for the VM Summit is available now at www.visionmonday.com/Summit.