Prof Helen Danesh-Meyer

There is no doubt 2021 was an unusual year. We have come to realise that Covid-19 will be part of our landscape for the foreseeable future. While this hinders eyecare providers, for patients with glaucoma the challenges are threefold.

First, it may be difficult to continue with regular appointment times and glaucoma checks. Some patients will feel apprehensive about going to see their optometrist and ophthalmologist because of the levels of Covid-19 in the community; they may delay or miss an appointment. For some patients with advanced glaucoma, this can be a significant risk because glaucoma progression is usually silent, even in advanced cases. Therefore, it is important that the decision to delay an appointment is only made after consultation with the eyecare provider.

Second, the pandemic has increased isolation for all of us, which has particularly impacted our elderly patients. Patients may have questions and concerns which can build with fewer opportunities to clarify. One avenue that may assist with this is to refer your patients to Glaucoma New Zealand (GNZ), which is aware its website is being visited more often so is constantly providing up-to-date information to allow patients to feel and stay connected with glaucoma developments and support.

Finally, another challenge facing us all is learning to communicate meaningfully while wearing masks. Many of our patients have hearing impairment, so eyecare providers need to remember to speak clearly and loudly and check if they can be understood, especially as some patients may feel awkward about saying they are struggling to hear. In glaucoma care, patient-eyecare provider communication is critical. It is important to say verbally what we used to say with a smile, which is difficult to discern when wearing masks, so we need to take an extra moment to ensure we are connecting with each other.

For more information on how GNZ can support your glaucoma patients, please see https://www.glaucoma.org.nz/

Professor Helen Danesh-Meyer is an Auckland-based consultant ophthalmologist specialising in glaucoma and neuro-ophthalmology and chair of Glaucoma New Zealand (GNZ)