A study looking at eyecare affordability in Australian collaborative clinics found one-quarter of patients are avoiding treatment for their eye conditions for cost reasons.
The study, published in the latest issue of Public Health Research & Practice, a peer-reviewed journal of the Sax Institute, surveyed 252 patients attending collaborative eyecare clinics, where optometrists provide comprehensive diagnostic imaging and eyecare services typical of public hospitals or large private ophthalmology practices. With a response rate of 46.8%, the findings showed the average percentage of patients not obtaining services due to cost was 23.4% for general healthcare and 25.5% for specialist eyecare, while 45.2% of respondents experienced direct or indirect cost barriers to optometric eyecare and 40.4% faced similar challenges for specialist eyecare.
“Our findings underline the considerable cost barriers people face when accessing eyecare,” said senior author Dr Angelica Ly, a researcher at the School of Optometry and Vision Science, UNSW Sydney. “We found that on average, one in four patients were opting not to access eyecare services because of the cost, even after attending a collaborative care clinic that provides services at no cost to patients. And nearly half (of these) reported cost as a barrier when seeking eyecare.”
