Key takeaways:
- Referrals to low vision rehabilitation should be informed by both visual acuity loss and visual field loss.
- Low vision defined by visual field loss was less likely to be referred for rehab.
Referral for low vision rehabilitation is uneven, and clinicians may be overlooking eligible patients, according to a study published in Life.
“Despite evidence supporting the effectiveness of LVR and its growing availability, utilization of LVR in the U.S. remains low,” study author David J. Ramsey, MD, PhD, MPH, director of ophthalmic research at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Massachusetts, told Healio. “This is especially troubling given the enormous psychosocial and economic burden imposed by glaucoma. … The goal of this study was twofold: to evaluate the rate at which patients with severe open-angle glaucoma were referred for LVR services and to quantify the benefits received by those patients who accessed these services.”
Ramsey and colleagues analyzed data on 522 patients with severe open-angle glaucoma treated at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center from March 2021 through February 2022.
Read More: Eligible patients may not be referred for low vision rehab
Source: Healio