Glaucoma Week: How Specsavers Aims to Tackle Glaucoma in Canada

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the world and can progress to advanced stages without signs or symptoms. Routine eye exams are crucial for early detection, so that preventative measures can be taken to manage the condition effectively, preserving vision and quality of life for those at risk.

“Early detection of eye conditions is the key to good visual outcomes for patients, which is why at Specsavers we include OCT assessment as part of our routine eye exam for every patient at no additional cost,” says Naomi Barber, Director of Optometry, Specsavers.

“Advanced imaging technologies, such as OCT, provides significant clinical information not able to be obtained through other means, enabling earlier detection of even very subtle disease. When OCT is made part of standard care, the impact is significant in terms of patient education and detection of eye disease long before it becomes debilitating,” explains Barber. “In regions where we have implemented consistent use of OCT as part of standard optometric care, we’ve measured detection rates of glaucoma increase significantly, almost doubling the detection rate for new detections and very close to reported population prevalence.”

Here are more facts from Specsavers Australia to smile about as we increase the early detection of glaucoma:

• Optometrists at Specsavers have detected early signs of glaucoma in over 32,000 Australians in the last year alone, leading to the diagnosis and treatment required to save their sight
• OCT technology is now being used by 1,500 Specsavers optometrists on more than 4 million patients per year

The impact on outcomes for patients that we’ve measured elsewhere has driven our decision to include OCT as part of standard care for all in Canada.