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May 5, 2022

May is Healthy Vision Month

Did you know?

  • More than 50% of those over the age of 80 currently have cataracts or have had cataract surgery in the past (Healthcare Business Today Team, 2021).
  • A major cause of vision loss for those over the age of 50 is age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (Healthcare Business Today Team, 2021).
  • For people over 60, glaucoma is one of the leading causes for blindness (Glaucoma - Symptoms and Causes - Mayo Clinic, 2020)
  • It is estimated that 16 million Americans age 40 and over will be diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy by the year 2050 (Hendrick et al., 2015).

Certain factors can increase a person's risk for developing eye disease (Keep Your Eyes Healthy | National Eye Institute, 2021).

  • Advancing in age/getting older
  • Family history of eye disease
  • Being overweight/obese
  • Race (African American, Hispanic, and Native American)
  • Pre-existing diagnosis of some medical conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension

There are several steps you can take as a health care provider to promote healthy vision.

  • Encourage your patients to schedule their Initial Preventive Physical Examination (IPPE) – Welcome to Medicare visit.
  • Encourage your patients to schedule annual wellness visits and health screenings.
  • Discuss with your patients about the importance of regular, comprehensive eye examinations to maintain eye health. Medicare covers glaucoma screenings annually for those beneficiaries that qualify. Discuss this Medicare covered benefits with your patients and encourage them to enroll if they qualify.
  • Educate your patients on healthy habits such as exercising, eating a well-balanced diet including foods that are low in salt, fat, and cholesterol, lowering stress levels, controlling weight (or losing weight if needed), and getting enough sleep.
  • Educate your patients on the importance of wearing sunglasses to protect their eyes from the sun.
  • Discuss with your patients about the importance of wearing protective eyewear (safety glasses and goggles) when performing activities that could potentially injury the eyes.
  • Talk to your patients about resting their eyes when using the computer. Instruct them to take a break every 20 minutes and look at something about 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
  • If your patients are diabetic, monitor their blood glucose levels. Manage and treat accordingly. Educate your patients about the relationship between elevated blood glucose levels and risk for eye disease and vision loss. Medicare covers diabetic screening and Diabetes Self-Management Training (DSMT) for those patients that qualify. Discuss these Medicare covered benefits with your patients and encourage them to schedule or enroll if applicable.
  • Monitor your patients' blood pressure levels. Manage and treat accordingly. Educate your patients about the relationship between elevated blood pressure and risk for eye disease and vision loss.
  • Monitor your patients' cholesterol levels. Manage and treat accordingly. Educate your patients about the relationship between elevated cholesterol levels and risk for eye disease and vision loss.
  • Medicare covers Intensive Behavioral Therapy (IBT) for Cardiovascular Disease and Intensive Behavioral Therapy (IBT) for Obesity for those patients that qualify. Discuss this Medicare covered benefits with your patients and encourage them to enroll if applicable.
  • Encourage your patients to quit smoking. Instruct your patients on the effects of smoking and the link between smoking and risk for eye disease. Medicare covers counseling to prevent tobacco use for those patients that qualify. Discuss this Medicare covered benefit with your patients and encourage them to enroll.

To learn more about Medicare-covered services, visit CMS Preventive ServicesExternal website.

For More Information

References

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