Objective The purpose of the study was to examine: (a) how patient adherence and eye drop technique were associated with visual field defect severity and (b) how general glaucoma adherence self-efficacy and eye drop technique self-efficacy were related to visual field defect severity. Design Cross-sectional study conducted at a single private practice site. Participants Patients on eye drops for their glaucoma. Methods We measured subjects’ adherence to glaucoma medications through Medication Events Monitoring System (MEMS) devices and assessed eye drop instillation technique by video-recording. We measured general glaucoma medication adherence self-efficacy using a 10-item scale and eye drop technique self-efficacy using a 6-item scale. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze the data. Main outcome measures Visual field defect severity. Results Patients who were less than 80% adherent according to the MEMS caps were significantly more likely to have worse defect severity. Patients with lower scores on the general glaucoma medication adherence self-efficacy scale were also significantly more likely to have worse defect severity. Eye drop technique and eye drop technique self-efficacy were not significantly related to visual field defect severity. Conclusions Eye care providers need to assess patient adherence and work with those patients with poor adherence to find ways to improve their ability and self-efficacy in using their glaucoma medications.

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To evaluate the performance of patients with ocular hypertension and glaucoma who are experienced in the instillation of topical ocular hypotensive medications.Methods: We conducted a prospective, open-label study at a single private practice site. We enrolled 139 patients with a diagnosis of glaucoma or ocular hypertension who used 1 or more topical ocular hypotensive medications for at least 6 months and who instilled their own medications. Patients were questioned regarding their use of topical ocular hypotensive medications, and we used a video recording to evaluate patient performance of eyedrop instillation with 2 bottle designs.Results: Patients reported relatively good performance on eyedrop instillation. One hundred twenty-nine of 139 patients (92.8%) reported no problem putting in their eyedrops, and 86 of 139 (61.9%) believed that they never missed their eye when administering the drops. The proportions of patients who were able to instill a single drop into the eye without touching the bottle to the eye were 14 of 64 (21.9%) with a 15-mL bottle and 36 of 117 (30.8%) with a 2.5-mL bottle.Conclusions: Under a single direct observation, patients experienced in the use of topical ocular hypotensive agents performed relatively poorly when instilling a single eyedrop into the eye without touching the bottle tip to the eye or the ocular adnexae.

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CME is associated with substantial costs. Therapies that prevent or decrease CME severity are likely to result in cost savings, particularly among diabetic beneficiaries. Further analyses should explore the relationship of comorbidities to costs among CME patients.