Economic impact of eye diseases

The National Vision Coalition in the Republic of Ireland  is calling for immediate implementation of a national vision strategy following the launch of a study into the economic impact of four eye diseases. The call to action was made at the launch of the Economic Cost and Burden of Eye Diseases and Preventable Blindness in Ireland report which states that up to €76 million could be saved annually if early intervention is prioritised .

The aim of the report – which is part of a pan-European study of 16 countries by Deloitte – was to analyse the impact and burden of blindness and the most prevalent eye diseases in Ireland, and to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent eye disease and blindness. There are currently 292,867 individuals in Ireland with one of the four eye diseases researched - cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma or wet-age related macular degeneration (wet-AMD)(2). These eye diseases can lead to blindness.

Dr Omer Saka, Director of the European Centre for Health Economics, Deloitte Consulting, focused on the comparison between Ireland and the rest of Europe during the launch. “The situation in Ireland is similar to what we have seen in other European countries. Five people per week are going blind in Ireland, and the current burden of blindness and vision loss is very high with healthcare costs of €65.1m per annum. As with other European countries, this study has found that there are methods to prevent blindness which would be cost-effective for Ireland to incorporate into a national vision strategy. This report supports previous research findings on the cost of eye health, and a potential saving of up to €76 million per year,” he said.