A study evaluating the extra workforce needed to cope with increasing burden of myopia management found it’s unlikely to overwhelm eyecare in the UK and Ireland.
Researchers at the Centre for Eye Research Ireland used two models to estimate the number of six-to 21-year-olds in the UK and Ireland with myopia, giving an average of 2.35m youngsters. Researchers estimated this will require an additional workforce of 250-550 full-time equivalent (FTE) optometrists or ophthalmologists over three to four years, a 1-3% increase of the current workforce. Researchers noted that reducing their model’s threshold of annual progression for initiating treatment from 0.5D to 0.25D doubled the FTE workforce requirement.
