AAO and AGS Want New Eval of Glaucoma Screening Reviews

The American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Glaucoma Society are calling for a new evaluation of glaucoma screening and treatment in response to recent draft reviews prepared by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The draft reviews assess the effectiveness of glaucoma screenings and treatment, concluding that there is no evidence for or against glaucoma screenings, or a correlation between glaucoma treatment and visual impairment. This is significant as AHRQ shares its reviews with the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, whose recommendations have implications for Medicare and private-payer coverage decisions, and could hinder access to care for minorities who are at high risk for glaucoma. Open-angle glaucoma affects an estimated 2.2 million people in the United States, with that number expected to increase to 3.3 million in 2020 as the population ages. Read more.