Diabetic Eye Exam Compliance is Critical

Being compliant with the schedule and level of necessary testing for diabetic eye disease, problems and retinopathy is critical for preventing vision loss. Yet, many people are simply not in compliance with the recommendations. Minimizing the risk of vision loss from diabetic eye disease requires that patients do their part and keep a strict schedule with their eye doctor’s recommendations for diabetic eye exams and testing.

Research on Diabetic Eye Exam Compliance Factors
Researchers reporting in Ophthalmology, studied and identified variables that predict adherence with annual eye examinations using the Compliance with Annual Diabetic Eye Exams Survey (CADEES), a new questionnaire designed to measure health beliefs related to diabetic retinopathy and annual eye examinations. A number of factors seemed to influence diabetic patient compliance with annual eye exams. These include:

a) whether patients believed that their insurance would pay for the eye exam, 

b) how difficult it was to get an appointment for an eye exam, 

c) whether patients had been effectively counseled and prioritized the importance of getting an eye exam and 

d) whether patients had been told that they had diabetic retinopathy.

The researchers also found that the clinicians played a key role in eye exam compliance. Compliance was improved if they counseled newly diagnosed patients more diligently and more carefully counseled those with poorly controlled blood sugar by stressing the importance of annual eye examinations and discussing and helping patients remove perceived barriers and misconceptions.

If you or someone you know has diabetes they need to have regular annual dilated eye exams to prevent vision loss from diabetic eye diseases and problems. Please share this information with anyone you know who is diabetic and ask them to call us at 508-730-2020, visit Center for Sight, Google+ or www.facebook.com/centerforsightfallriver.

Center for Sight is conveniently located at 1565 North Main Street, Suite 406, Fall River, Massachusetts 02720 for patients from Massachusetts or Rhode Island.