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Avoiding blurring, drowsiness are keys to eye drop choice
NEW YORK — People who take anti-glaucoma eye drops would be willing to pay more for their prescriptions if they offered less blurring and less drowsiness than current formulations. Convenience and brand identity are less important factors in glaucoma patients' drug preferences.
These are among the conclusions of a survey examining patients’ attitudes towards their glaucoma medications.
“Learning what our patients want is the first step in giving them what they want,” said Henry Jampel, MD, speaking here at the Eleventh Annual Ocular Surgery News New York Symposium on Cataract, Glaucoma, Retina and Refractive Surgery.
Dr. Jampel and his colleagues conducted a “willingness-to-pay” study, in which they tried to ascertain whether patients were willing to pay more for certain changes in their glaucoma medications. They questioned 230 patients on their drop choice in relation to blurred vision, stinging and burning, bad taste, drowsiness and inhibition of sexual function. They also studied frequency of administration, one vs. two medications in one bottle and generic vs. brand name medications.
Median annual income of the respondents was $41,000. Eighty-three percent of respondents had some form of insurance with copayments for prescriptions. Median education was some college.
Dr. Jampel found that 85% of respondents were willing to pay up to $25 more for drops if they offered a reduction in blur. Other side effects patients would be willing to pay more to have eliminated or reduced: drowsiness, 80%; bad taste, 75%; stinging/burning, 70%; inhibition of sexual function, 60%.
On the other hand, 50% of patients would pay more if they could administer the drop once instead of three times per day. Forty percent would pay more if they had two drops in one bottle; 35% would pay more if they could take the drop twice instead of three times per day; and 20% would pay more if they could take a brand-name drug instead of a generic drug.
Dr. Jampel said subjects with higher education and higher income were willing to pay more for their medications.