NCBI Publishes Major Study Into The Cost Of Sight Loss
In 2010, NCBI commissioned Deloitte Access Economics, a world-leading independent economic consulting firm, to conduct a comprehensive study on the burden of vision impairment and blindness to the Republic of Ireland. While the report will not be publicly available until mid-June, we can give NCBI News readers a sneak preview of the findings before its publication.
The number of people living with mild and moderate sight loss, as well as blindness, is set to rise by 21% in the next 10 years, vision impairment is going to take a huge toll on the health of the Irish population and on our healthcare system unless urgent action is taken.
The nature of sight loss is changing. More and more of the people using NCBI’s services are over the age of 65 and around 95% have some level of vision. As conditions like age-related macular degeneration (AMD) continue to rise, it is vital that we, as an organisation, are prepared for the demands this will put on our resources and the way we deliver services. It is even more important that the Government is aware of the economic impact sight loss is having on this country’s resources and that plans are made to invest wisely in prevention and treatment programmes in order to avoid greater problems down the line.
Estimate the economic impact of vision impairment
That is why NCBI commissioned Deloitte Access Economics, a company which has previously estimated the burden of vision loss for Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and globally, to estimate the economic impact of vision impairment and blindness in Ireland.
The primary causes of sight loss in Ireland are:
- Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
- Cataract
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Glaucoma
- Refractive error (not wearing the correct spectacles).
Just over half of those registered as blind are female
There were 10,223 people registered as blind in 2010, 24% as a result of AMD. Just over half of those registered as blind are female and an analysis of the age breakdown shows that the 90 plus age category represents the largest proportion of registered blind people, at 15%.
The economic impact of sight loss has a two main components: direct healthcare costs, which are incurred within the health care system by the Government or other payers as a result of treating these conditions and indirect costs, which include the economic impact of these conditions on wider society outside the health care system, such as the cost of informal care at home.
Direct healthcare costs include hospital expenditure, prescription drug expenditure, provision of general ophthalmic services and expenditure on assessment and care of people who are blind or vision impaired. Indirect financial costs include productivity losses, including lost earnings from lower employment and premature death, informal care costs and welfare losses from government-funded health care costs, welfare payments to the blind and lost taxation revenue.
The total costs of vision impairment to the State found in this report are staggering. The findings highlight a need for urgent investment into key areas to avoid these rising costs and to ensure the eye health of the nation.
The report examined the cost effectiveness of three eye health programmes, which would aim to reduce the economic impact of vision impairment:
- screening for people with diabetes;
- screening for the elderly; and
- reducing cataract surgery waiting lists.
Most vision impairment can be avoided or treated, reducing the significant personal, social and economic burdens of vision loss in Ireland. But we need to act now. With more research funding allocated to vision health, we could become much closer to preventing, and treating more effectively, a range of eye diseases. By elevating vision health as a public health issue, people could become better informed about vision loss and take significant steps to reduce their risk.