Benefits of Ophthalmological Exams for Young Children Remain Up in the Air

"It remains unclear whether a special ophthalmological examination of all children younger than 6 years (and potential follow-up treatments) would reduce the frequency and severity of visual impairment (amblyopia) in the population," according to a Medical News Today post. "An update search conducted for a benefit assessment of the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) from 2008 identified no new screening study. No benefit of vision screening in preschool-aged children could be derived from the only new treatment study. This is the finding of a rapid report prepared by IQWiG on behalf of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) and published on 17 June 2015." Read more.

The National ROI of Cataract Surgery: 4567%!!!!

Take the number of cataract surgeries performed in a single year. Spread out the financial results over 13. What do you get? More than $123.4 billion in savings and a societal 4567 percent return on investment, according to a cost-utility study published by Ophthalmology. Patients realize 39.4% of the savings and Medicare another 29.5%. Other gains included employment/productivity (20.6 percent), Medicaid (2.7 percent) and other insurers (7.8 percent). In other words, for each cataract surgery on a single eye, which costs an average of $2653, the savings will amount to $121,198. Read more.