Eye Exams Get Patients to Seek Treatment for Chronic Problems

After comprehensive eye exams, patients seek follow-up treatment for certain chronic conditions from the primary care physicians and specialists, based on the advice of an eye care professionals. That's the finding of Eye Exam Impacts on Re-engagement for Chronic Conditions, a new study by UnitedHealthcare.

It  demonstrates how eye care professionals can play a key role in helping re-engage patients with chronic conditions into care. This may help enable cost savings and prevention of disease progression and complications. Study results showed that 33 percent of previously unengaged patients, defined as lacking medical care for any chronic conditions over the previous 18 months, were re-engaged into care with a primary care physician or specialist within 60 days following an eye exam. Another 24 percent of patients were re-engaged after 60 days following an eye exam.

The study followed more than 2,300 UnitedHealthcare plan participants enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans to determine whether patients lacking care for chronic conditions followed up for treatment with a primary care physician or specialist after an eye exam. The study examined re-engagement rates for people with seven chronic conditions: Crohn’s disease, diabetes, Graves’ disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. The results are important considering many people visit their eye care doctor more frequently than their primary care provider. Read more.

Forget the $1.2 Billion Warby Parker Raised. Look at Its Plans for Smart Phones

There's more to notice than the billions Warby Parker whipped up to fund its 20-store brick-and-mortar expansion. "The company is also building new technology to make shopping for frames in stores and online easier. Gilboa said Warby Parker is investing in technology to let customers conduct eye exams using just their mobile phones," reports the Wall Street Journal's Digits.

In case you have not paid attention, Warby Parker recently raised $1.2 billion. "The capital will help expand Warby Parker’s chain of retail shops, where the company generates a growing portion of sales. The storefronts, started in 2013 as an experiment, now employ about half of the company’s 500 employees and help drive awareness for the Warby Parker brand in each of the 9 U.S. cities where they operate." Read more.

CDC Report Advocates Eye Exams for Children

Prevent Blindness America has noted that a new supplement of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documents "the potential benefits of selected clinical preventive services [such as eye exams] for infants, children, and adolescents; the challenges related to their underuse; and effective collaborative strategies to improve use." Read the CDC report.

America’s Best Survey: Price the Reason Most People Don’t Get Eye Exams

A survey, called Eye Health Awareness and Access commissioned by America’s Best, found that even though 93% said their health was import, 40 percent have not had an eye exam in the past year, and 10 percent have never seen an eye doctor. African-Americans were almost twice as likely to have never done so. That’s the word from an America’s Best press release appearing on Yahoo! Finance Canada. The top reason people give for why they have not recently visited their eye doctor is "No need – I am seeing fine," with 37 percent saying this, followed closely by "I cannot afford it," said by 34 percent. These same people say they expect to pay more than $90 for an eye exam, showing they are not aware of more affordable options.The majority of people also feel that their eyeglasses cost too much for what they got, with the cost of their eyeglasses averaging close to $200 for their last pair. Nearly a quarter paid more than $250. As a result of the survey, America’s Best came up with the Rickey Smiley frames, available for two-for-$104.95 deal with single vision plastic lenses and an eye exam. Price is cited as the most important factor when shopping for eyeglasses (74 percent of people said this), followed by quality (57 percent), location (47 percent), convenience (41 percent) and hours (19 percent). Read more. Watch comedian Rickey Smiley interviewing people about eye health.

MIT Smartphone Eye Exam Raises $4 Million

“An MIT mobile health spinoff wants to bring vision tests to smartphones and has raised $4 million as part of a Series A round. In a phone interview with MedCity News, EyeNetra COO and co-founder David Schafran confirmed the fundraise but was fairly tight-lipped about details such as how the tests would be delivered and assessed,” notes MedCity News. “Previously known as PerfectSight, EyeNetra developed a device called NetraG that can be applied to mobile phones to create a smartphone vision test. The device can generate a recommended power for each person’s eyeglasses and contact lenses. It is designed to test for nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. It also measures for the distance between eyes. Its website claims its technology is as accurate as autorefractors, but a good deal less expensive than their $45,000 price tag.The company also is developing a data analytics component to identify patterns and trends to develop specific recommendations for each patient.” Read more.

Kentucky Requires Eye Exams for School Children

“Parents will soon be busy making their back-to-school lists. School supplies and new clothes may be at the top of those lists, but an eye exam should be included as well,” according to WHAS11. “State law requires that children ages 3 through 6 who are entering a public school or preschool program for the first time have a vision exam.” Read more.

"Delisting" Eye Exams Results in Fewer Exams

“The delisting of routine eye exams from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) for healthy adults under age 65 has resulted in lower rates of recommended eye screening for people with diabetes, states a study published in CMAJ - even though eye exams for people with diabetes are still covered (Canadian Medical Association Journal),” accoding toMedical News Today.Read more.

Patients Avoid Eye Exams

Eye care professionals have something in common with dental professionals. Despite their fear of losing their vision, many people avoid eye exams, according to a posting in the NYTimes. "Joe Lovett was scared, really scared. Being able to see was critical to his work as a documentary filmmaker and, he thought, to his ability to live independently. But longstanding glaucoma threatened to rob him of this most important sense — the sense that more than 80 percent of Americans worry most about losing, according to a recent survey."