This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Data shows glaucoma prescribing rate increasing among optometrists
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
PHOENIX – Three-year prescribing data showed that optometrists are writing an increasing number of glaucoma prescriptions, with a preference for prostaglandin analogs, according to a poster presented here.
Agustin Gonzalez, OD, analyzed 3-year prescribing data from a pharmaceutical tracking company, specifically looking at the prescribing habits of optometrists in treating glaucoma.
The category of total glaucoma drugs prescribed grew 13.28% from 2007 to 2008 and 14.65% from 2008 to 2009, according to the poster. The biggest growth was seen in prostaglandins, which increased 15.39% from 2007 to 2008 and 16.01% from 2008 to 2009. Beta-blockers and carbonic anhydrase inhibitors also grew, but pilocarpine and epinephrine decreased.
“Similar medication trends and prescribing habits have been seen in ophthalmologists in New Zealand and Scotland,” Gonzalez told Primary Care Optometry News. “The data may indicate that U.S. ODs have become more comfortable toward the clinical aspects of glaucoma management and have adopted patterns similar to ophthalmologists.”
Further studies may “better identify the impact that medical optometric care represents to the health care marketplace and define the role of optometric care in the delivery of health care,” Gonzalez said.