Ophthalmology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Ophthalmology, including details on eye surgery, myopia, cataracts.

The cost of vision for vitreoretinal interventions.

Smiddy WE

The Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article reviews the current status of treatments for age-related macular degeneration from a cost-effectiveness perspective. RECENT FINDINGS: Treatments are now available to a broad range of patients with age-related macular degeneration, but they are pharmaceutical based and require repeated evaluation and treatment. The resulting unprecedented levels of cost make cost-effectiveness considerations more prescient. Newer methods to evaluate cost-effectiveness and treatment outcomes have included utility and value-based analyses. These have attempted to utilize accurate, objective parameters, but are calibrated by subjective patient assessments and are limited by certain methodological assumptions. Treatment methods to improve outcomes are increasingly being considered within the context of cost-effectiveness. SUMMARY: Although improved understanding of basic, cellular processes has led to markedly improved treatment options for age-related macular degeneration within the past decade, the high costs and wide applicability threaten the balance and viability of the payor system. Accurate means of assessing cost-effectiveness are critical to defining clinical applications.

Published 14 April 2008 in Curr Opin Ophthalmol, 19(3): 195-201.
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