Abstract
Purpose :
To identify characteristics and outcomes of patients who completed follow-up eye appointments after attending a community-based eye screening event.
Methods :
Individuals aged ≥50 years screened at community sites in Baltimore, Maryland with abnormal ocular findings were referred for one free-of-charge definitive eye exam at the Wilmer Eye Institute. Patients with Wilmer visits between January 1, 2016 to July 31, 2018 were included. Demographics, disease diagnoses, treatment, billing and behavioral information were abstracted from electronic medical records.
Results :
A total of 611 individuals had 2,471 visits to the Wilmer Eye Institute during this time period. The majority of patients were female (60.3%) and African American (83.7 %). 48.9% had Medicare/Medicaid coverage, and 33.5% had less than high school education. At the screening event, 82.9% of these participants reported having trouble seeing when not wearing corrective eyewear, but only 49.8% reported visiting an eye doctor within the last two years and 44.0% reported not visiting an eye doctor in the past when they likely should have. At the definitive eye exam, 75.5% of these patients were diagnosed with ≥1 eye condition. The most common eye conditions were cataracts (30.3%), glaucoma suspect (24.9%), glaucoma (11.9%), diabetic retinopathy (5.4%) and ocular hypertension (2.6%). Of these 611 individuals, 430 (70.4%) required treatment including surgery, intravitreal injections, laser procedures, and medications, including 100 surgeries at the Wilmer Eye Institute. A total of $750,070 was billed for visits and procedures after the initial free-of-charge visit during this time period.
Conclusions :
Community-based vision screening programs in urban areas are able to identify ocular conditions requiring treatment in older individuals. These programs connect underserved populations to eye care. The current findings highlight that this model can simultaneously generate revenue for eye hospitals that can help cover screening costs.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.