Specsavers and Macular Disease Foundation Australia (MDFA) are reporting early positive signs from a pilot tackling preventable blindness in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD).
This month the organisations launched a strategic scoping partnership which they say represents an Australian-first move to overcome preventable vision loss from nAMD. Specifically, they will support nAMD suspects to attend their first ophthalmology appointment and help with treatment adherence.
It is also an opportunity to gain a true understanding of incidence and prevalence rates of nAMD across Australia for the first time.
“As a part of our Transforming Eye Health strategy, we’ve been focussed on making progress toward better health outcomes for patients with the major forms of avoidable blindness – in terms of glaucoma and diabetes, we are making a demonstrable difference in saving people’s sight,” Dr Ben Ashby, director of optometry for Specsavers Australia and New Zealand, said.
“We’ve yet to really start making a big impact in the area of age-related macular degeneration and the project that our pilot stores are working on will lay out the pathway for how we can work together with the Macular Disease Foundation Australia to protect these people’s sight. All optometrists know the scale of the problem that we’re trying to solve for the 150,000+ Australians currently with the neovascular form of this disease. There is incredibly effective treatment out there that to some degree restores people’s sight, and protects their vision for as long as they are on the treatment.
“The challenge is that as many as one in five people stop adhering to this treatment and, as a result, permanently lose their vision. The work that we’re doing in partnership with MDFA and our pilot stores will hopefully lay the pathway ahead of us for how we can improve these people’s lives by keeping them on treatment that works for their lifestyle and protects their vision.”
The program in action
The project has begun in pilot phase with 16 Specsavers practices from around the country.
Consenting patients with suspected nAMD who have had an eye test at these practices are being referred to MDFA via Oculo at the same time as their ophthalmologist referral.
MDFA then contacts the patient within three business days to check how they are feeling and to answer questions from the referral. Here, the organisation encourages them to attend the ophthalmology appointment and invites them to join the MDFA specialised treatment support program called ‘My Eyes’.
Once the appointment has occurred, MDFA contacts the patient again to find out the diagnosis and prescribed treatment, and seeks to answer questions or concerns.
‘My Eyes’ then commences which sees periodic check-ins with the patient, aligned with their treatment intervals. All ‘My Eyes’ patients also receive tailored information and resources about nAMD every two months and are connected to other services such as peer support groups and the free national helpline run by MDFA (1800 111 709).
Through this methodology, MDFA can report on patient consent/participation rates, anonymised patient diagnoses, false positive ophthalmology referral rates and patient sentiment.
This is shared with participating Specsavers optometrists who can also feedback on the process in monthly project meetings. Any patient trends or opportunities for development are identified and the project can morph to ensure the most effective visual outcomes for patients.
Early findings
While the project is still in infancy, Specsavers reports the early trends are encouraging, with 75% of participating patients joining ‘My Eyes’ and early figures showing the first patients adhering to treatment.
A better picture of the state of nAMD in Australia is also beginning to emerge as data from the project is captured.
Optometrist Ms Yavani Mudaly, who co-owns two participating Specsavers practices in New South Wales, said that while the project has had a slower start due to COVID interruptions and lockdowns, her optometrists were looking forward to being at the forefront of this opportunity to make a difference for patients with nAMD.
“So far patients have been very willing and even grateful for the opportunity to participate and be better informed about their disease,” she said.
“If this project means that even one of my patients attends their ophthalmology appointment or adheres to treatment when they otherwise wouldn’t, it is worth it for me. It’s exciting to be on a journey that will incrementally change the visual outcomes for Australians with AMD.”
Next steps
Ashby said the project may take several years to test and slowly grow as key trends and data emerged from the pilot phase.
“We’re hoping that the work we’re doing will then pave the way for hundreds of thousands of others and we’ll be sharing our key learnings and data with the wider industry on HealthHub as we shape our strategy,” he said.
MDFA CEO Ms Dee Hopkins said the organisation was established to provide a patient-centric, trusted service to those living with or at risk of macular disease.
“Every day we work collaboratively and in partnership with our community, health professionals, researchers, and government to minimise the impact of macular disease,” she said, according to a Specsavers announcement.
“For this project, we are thrilled to position ourselves alongside the nation’s largest optometry provider to determine how we can collaboratively improve the visual outcomes of our patients. Our shared vision is that the successful measures determined through the partnership will be shared with the entire industry to further impact the nation’s eye health.”
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