The treatment burden: is it all getting too much?

8 February 2023
Winter 2023
AMD Public health

The effort, cost and logistics of managing treatment for eye conditions can have a big impact on patients’ quality of life. What can be done to minimise their treatment burden?

The idea that the “treatment burden” affects a patient’s adherence to medications, adaptations and attending ongoing appointments, and is linked to worse medical outcomes, is emerging in healthcare literature (Alsadah et al, 2022). A wide range of chronic eye conditions and comorbidities with other diseases can have an impact on a patient’s quality of life. From drops and lasers for primary open angle glaucoma to intravitreal injections for eye conditions such as diabetic macular oedema, treatment burden can be relevant to a variety of medical interventions.

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