The number of Optical treatments fell from 769.7 thousand to 699.9 thousand between 2015-2017. This is a 9% reduction in the number of treatments. See headline table and Figure 1.
These payments were paid by the Primary Care Reimbursement service (PCRS). Please see background notes for a further description of the PCRS and Community Ophthalmic Services Scheme (COSS). The figures on this release are based off fully complete and processed claims. For this reason, figures may vary from those published by the HSE. Please note, care should be taken when examining trends over time in the form of expenditure and average amounts as eligibility criteria can change over time.
The supply of appliances, such as glasses and contact lenses, are the most popular optical treatment making up over 50% of treatments annually. The second most commonly performed treatment is eye examinations, making up at least 34% of annual optical treatments between 2015-2017. Other treatments, home visits, medical optical treatment, and repairs and replacements make up around 7% of annual treatments between 2015-2017. See Table 1.
Optical treatments are consistently higher among female COSS patients than male COSS patients during the years 2015-2017. Most instances of optical treatments are in the 75 years and over age group. See Table 2a-2e.
In 2017, most treatments including, appliance, bifocal lenses, eye examinations, and single vision lenses to own frame, among other treatments were highest in the Southern Local Health Office Region. However, Bifocals were highest in the West Local Health Office Region. Home visits, repairs and medical optical treatments were highest in Dublin mid-Leinster. See Table 2e.
The average number of treatments per COSS patient in 2015 was 1.14 treatments per COSS patient. In 2017 this figure remained the same. Figures for average treatments per patient are highest in the 75 years and over category. Average number of treatments per patient are highest in the Dublin Mid-Leinster region. See Table 3.
The average number of treatments per COSS patient was 1.07 treatments per patient, between 2015-2017. The state average, and averages for both male and female COSS patients are also 1.07 treatments. Figures for average treatments per patient are highest in the 75 years and over category. Average number of treatments per patient are highest in the Dublin Mid-Leinster region. See Table 4.
Treatments on major optical conditions such as age related macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma, have seen an overall increase since 2015 (6%, 5%, 9% respectively). In contrast diabetic ophthalmic management related optical treatments have seen a 40% decrease. Age related macular degeneration treatments are highest in the over 75s category. Treatments for age related macular degeneration, treatments for cataracts and treatments for glaucoma are higher for female COSS patients than male COSS patients. See Table 5.
The average payment for optical average payment per optical treatments increased marginally between 2015 and 2017 (0.6%) and is similar among both COSS patient genders between this time. By 2017, the average payment per female patient was €38.86, and the average payment for male COSS patients was €38.70. The Dublin Mid-Leinster region saw the highest average payments for optical treatments. See Table 6.
