Effectiveness and Cost of a Personalized Reminder Intervention to Improve Adherence to Glaucoma Care

Abstract

A low cost reminder intervention consisting of a personalized letter and telephone outreach significantly improved appointment adherence of patients with glaucoma.

<p>Impact of Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Diabetic Retinopathy Severity on Poor Ophthalmic Follow-Up in a Rural Vermont and New York Population</p>

“…Several studies have shown promise in creating personalized follow-up and education for ophthalmology patients. [29][30][31][32][33] Future investigation ought to expand upon this research in other, diverse populations while considering additional risk factors such as occupation, education, and marital status.…”

The Effect of an Educational Intervention on Adherence to Intraocular Pressure-Lowering Medications in a Large Cohort of Older Adults with Glaucoma

“…In accordance with the planned study inclusion ratio (3 patients per physician), physician selection educational videos, regular phone calls, and dosing-aidactivated reminders; or a customized letter and personal telephone call from the researcher. [9][10][11] From a physician's perspective, however, interventions such as sending daily texts to all patients who are prescribed IOP-lowering medication (or having to keep track of the information generated by those interventions up to 3 times a day, if automated) may be impractical given the incidence and prevalence of the disease. 12,13 Moreover, nonadherence is a multifactorial issue, and although automated reminders would be expected to help address barriers to adherence such as forgetfulness and difficulty with the treatment schedule, other important barriers (e.g., poor knowledge and difficulty with drop administration) are likely to benefit more from educational information and/ or interaction with the health care providers (as suggested by the American Academy of Ophthalmology).…”

“…[2][3][4][5][6][7] Interventions aimed at improving adherence have been shown to be effective in randomized studies of patients with glaucoma (n ≤ 256) set in university subspecialty clinics or eye institutes in the United States. [9][10][11] These interventions have included single approaches, such as daily voice or text messages reminding patients to take their medication; multifaceted ones, such as a combination of…”

Integrating Telemedicine Services in Ophthalmology: Evaluating Patient Interest and Perceived Benefits

“…Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing requirements may make patients and providers hesitant to undergo and perform medical examinations in clinic rooms with limited space. Previous studies have demonstrated that patients who live further from urban medical centers are less likely to receive eye examinations, 3 and in diseases such as glaucoma, more than 30% of patients do not return for recommended follow-up tests, [4][5][6] preventing optimal management. Telemedicine employs video conferencing to deliver medical care and testing remotely using internet-connected devices.…”