Comparing glaucoma medications and general demographics in a sample of glaucoma patients treated in private practice with nationwide registry data in Finland.

Purpose: To investigate the outpatient glaucoma care provided by Finnish private ophthalmologists and to compare this information with the data obtained from national databases.

Methods: The data were collected by 13 investigators in 27 centres in southern Finland. Patient demography, relevant systemic diseases, possible history of ocular surgery, duration of glaucoma, intraocular pressure (IOP) and type of glaucoma were registered. Ocular hypertensive medication(s) used during the last 6 months were recorded using the generic name coded by the current ATC/DDD index. The data were compared with a dataset obtained from the IMS Health database and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela).

Results: In total, 568 patients from private ophthalmology clinics were included. Mean age was 70 years (range 30-90 years), and the mean duration of glaucoma was 8.3 years. In general, IOP control was good (mean 16.9 mmHg). The average cost of glaucoma treatment for a single study patient was 336 euros per year. The findings obtained from the survey were similar to those of the nationwide databases, although fewer of the more aggressive glaucoma cases were managed in the private clinics examined during the study.

Conclusion: The study patients were treated effectively by private ophthalmologist. Their medication and the cost of medication were the same as in public clinics. Patients with aggressive glaucoma seem to be generally managed by public hospitals.