Glaucoma medication adherence may be higher after virtual visits

A recent study found that patients attending a virtual glaucoma clinic had higher levels of medication adherence than patients attending in-person clinics.

Of the 78 patients with glaucoma using topical medications who attended a virtual clinic, 71 (91%) had good self-reported adherence on a validated adherence questionnaire. Patients had a mean age of 73.1 ± 13.4 years and a duration of .0 ± 5.7 years since they were first diagnosed with glaucoma. Administering eye drops independently also resulted in higher odds of good adherence.

“The level of medication adherence in the virtual glaucoma clinic was higher than adherence in previous studies examining patients attending face-to-face clinics,” the authors concluded. “Virtual clinics should incorporate methods to ensure effective two-way communication with patients and strategies for patient education.”

Reference
Cheng KKW, Young SL, Donaldson S, et al. Adherence to topical glaucoma therapy in patients attending virtual clinics. Eye (Lond). 2022;doi: 10.1038/s41433-022-02277-y. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36209251.