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Socioeconomic factors affect patient compliance
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Patients with glaucoma may prolong their prescribed dosages and ignore physician instruction in an effort to save money, one surgeon here said.
The key to successfully treating glaucoma is patient education and continued communication between the physician and the patient, Fernando Gomez, MD, told attendees here at the Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology.
In Dr. Gomez’s home country of Colombia, patient compliance issues are mainly concentrated on incorrect administration of the medication or infrequent use of multiple drops, he said. “The need to save money on prescriptions may override a patient’s eye care,” he said.
To increase patient compliance, Dr. Gomez advises ophthalmologists to prescribe combined drug therapies that are convenient and cost-effective for the patient.