Sydney Eye Hospital has launched an innovative tool, developed locally to help glaucoma patients to stick to their treatment regime.
Dr Ridia Lim, Head of the Glaucoma Unit at Sydney Eye Hospital, said while glaucoma treatment can halt the damage from the sight-threatening condition, it is crucial for patients to stay on top of their medication.
“An international research study1,2 estimated that between 23–60% of glaucoma patients don’t use their eye drops or don’t apply them effectively,” said Dr Lim.
“For the treatment to work, it is important that the eye drops prescribed are used exactly as directed. That includes timing, dosing, and not missing eye drops. Long term, for glaucoma patients, taking the drops properly is important in maintaining vision and quality of life,” she said.
The Project includes two core initiatives to help patients, the Sydney Eye Drop Chart, and the Sydney Eye Drop app, supporting patients to correctly administer their medicines at home.
Sydney Eye Drop Project
To that end, the Sydney Eye Hospital has launched the Sydney Eye Drop Project, led by Dr Duri Kim, a Sydney Eye Hospital doctor from 2023–24. The project was funded through donations to the Sydney Eye Hospital Foundation. It includes two core initiatives to help patients correctly administer their medicines at home: the Sydney Eye Drop Chart, and the Sydney Eye Drop app.
“The Sydney Eye Drop Chart is a simple visual aid that patients receive at the end of a consultation or at the end of their hospital stay,” Dr Kim said.
“Their treatment programme is mapped out on the chart with bold graphics to make clear the dosage and frequency of each medication prescribed.”
The Sydney Eye Drop app has been developed for smartphones and tablets. User-friendly functions such as how-to graphics, videos, calendars, and alarms will help patients stick to their ophthalmic eye medication.
Before launching this new initiative Dr Kim, along with her Sydney Eye Hospital colleagues, piloted the project to gain vital feedback which showed 98–100% of patients found the app and medication charts easy to use.
It also highlighted the need for multilingual resources and more advanced accessibility. More work is underway to launch the app in Mandarin and Arabic as part of the next phase.
Keeping On Top of Medications
Optometrist Kim Gardiner, who is also a patient living with glaucoma, described the Sydney Eyedrop Project as a “fantastic initiative, which helps both myself and my patients keep on top of our medication”.
“As we all know, life gets busy, so it is incredibly helpful to have these resources, which couldn’t be easier to use.”
Linda Fagan, Chief Executive of Sydney Eye Hospital Foundation, said the Foundation was thrilled to have been able to fund the programme.
“I’m immensely proud our donors have contributed to an Australian first smartphone app for eye medication reminders helping people with glaucoma,” she said.
“This vital education about prescribed eye drop therapies is a fitting way to mark World Glaucoma Week. The message is clear: patients appreciate clear written and visual communication, and a simple reminder system should play a key role in improving patient outcomes,” Ms Fagan said.
“Our focus now is on expanding the Eye Drop project to all subspecialties in outpatient and inpatients together with Sydney Eye Hospital, establishing an Android version, and meeting multilingual and cultural needs.”
References
- Richardson C, Brunton L, Waterman H, et al. A study to assess the feasibility of undertaking a randomized controlled trial of adherence with eye drops in glaucoma patients. Patient preference and adherence. 2013;7:1025-39. doi: 10.2147/PPA.S47785.
- Sleath B, Blalock S, Robin AL, et al. The relationship between glaucoma medication adherence, eye drop technique, and visual field defect severity. Ophthalmology. 2011;118(12):2398-402. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2011.05.013.
