The treatment burden: is it all getting too much?
8 February 2023
Winter 2023
The effort, cost and logistics of managing treatment for eye conditions can have a big impact on patients’ quality of life. What can be done to minimise their treatment burden?
The idea that the “treatment burden” affects a patient’s adherence to medications, adaptations and attending ongoing appointments, and is linked to worse medical outcomes, is emerging in healthcare literature (Alsadah et al, 2022). A wide range of chronic eye conditions and comorbidities with other diseases can have an impact on a patient’s quality of life. From drops and lasers for primary open angle glaucoma to intravitreal injections for eye conditions such as diabetic macular oedema, treatment burden can be relevant to a variety of medical interventions.
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Related further reading
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The College of Optometrists has presented Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh with an Honorary Fellowship of the College in recognition of Her Royal Highness’s outstanding contribution to eye health.