Cathy Yelf, chief executive at the Macular Society
Research carried out by the Macular Society identified a gap in communication between eye care professionals (ECPs) and their patients when diagnosed or considered at risk of macular disease.
The charity’s two surveys focused on how macular disease affects patients and found a difference in what ECPs think they say to patients and what patients actually remember.
Cathy Yelf, chief executive at the Macular Society, said: ‘It’s vital people with macular disease are helped to understand their diagnosis, what their treatment will be, if there is any, and that they are effectively directed to support outside their clinical care.’
In a survey of ECPs, 68% said they always give patients information about macular disease at the point of diagnosis but only 21% said they consistently provided information to patients considered at-risk.
The Macular Society highlighted that inconsistency in information could lead to late diagnosis because many patients were unaware of related symptoms.
In a patient survey, 63% did not know their symptoms were due to macular disease and 25% thought these symptoms were not important.