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Quality of surgery, surgeon reputation influence decision to undergo refractive laser-assisted cataract surgery
WARSAW, Poland — Quality of medical performance, reputation of the surgeon and fear of surgery seem to be the main factors in patients’ decision to undergo refractive laser-assisted cataract surgery, or RELACS, according to a study carried out at a large private clinic in Germany.
“Price plays a secondary role. These patients agree to co-payment, and the extra charge seems to be of little concern to them,” Tim Herbst, project manager, said at the winter meeting of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.
Tim Herbst
The study was carried out through a questionnaire that included 11 questions dealing with different aspects of the decision-making process. Mean age of the patients was 72 years, and most of them were pensioners residing in the area. The main sources of information on refractive laser-assisted cataract surgery were family and friends, followed by newspapers. The Internet was of little relevance.
“In a scale of priorities, the highest impact factors for deciding in favor of RELACS were the reputation of the surgeon (82%) and the technology used (91%), followed by clinic organization and operative risks (64%). Price and financing offers were the lowest (18% and 9%, respectively),” Herbst said.
Other items in the questionnaire showed that patients regard price as a quality indicator. For more than 90% of respondents, high-quality surgery is worth a high price, and more than 70% believe that different price levels reflect quality levels. The average net income of the patients was more than €40,000, which made the extra charge realistically affordable.
“This study helped us define the target group and the type of information we should provide to promote RELACS,” Herbst said.
Disclosure: Herbst has no relevant financial disclosures.