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Patient education increases use of advanced lens technology

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MILAN — Patient education can increase the demand for advanced technology lens implants, according to one surgeon.

“Patients, when educated, more often than not choose a lens which will allow them to see better, to correct astigmatism or to have the full range of vision,” Jeffrey D. Horn, MD, said at the OSN Italy meeting.

Jeffrey D. Horn

However, even though at least 50% of eyes have enough corneal astigmatism to warrant correction at the time of cataract surgery, all patients are presbyopic and about 75% of surgeons report implanting advanced technology, monofocal IOLs are still the most common choice. Only about 13% to 15% of surgeries are performed with toric and/or presbyopic implants, Horn said.

Exclusion criteria and cost may partly explain this disconnect, but poor knowledge and lack of awareness play an even more important role in limiting patient demand for advanced IOL technology.

“The majority of patients think that cataract is a growth which is peeled away and may say, “I think I will just do my cataracts and not the expensive lens, doctor,’” Horn said.

Education is key but is likely to fail if the wrong language is used. Horn suggested using simple, factual language and focusing on the solution, not the problem.

“Tell the patient that the eye is the body’s camera and has a lens which gradually declines and becomes cloudy over one’s lifetime. And tell them if they had a camera with a cloudy, poorly functioning lens, the solution would be to replace it. So patients immediately ‘get’ that they need a lens replacement and that is what they will see with forever, while their human lens is discarded,” he said.

From there it will be easier to help patients select the lens that is better suited for their needs and make them understand the value of investing in new technologies. – by Michela Cimberle

Reference:

Horn JD. Getting to yes: How patient education increases usage of advanced technology lens implants. Presented at: OSN Italy; May 26-27, 2017; Milan.

Disclosure: Horn reports he is a consultant to Alcon and Bausch + Lomb and is on the speakers bureau of Allergan.