An Independent Research from a world leading Health Policy Expert suggest government to increase sight test subsidies and widen scope of primary eye-care (optometry) services in the U.K.
Progress will need to be made towards care pathways and integrated care.
Article contributed by Yap Tiong Peng About the writer (See Below)
Feb 2006 - An influential report from a world leading expert in Health Policy and Economics, Professor Nick Bosanquet of Imperial College in London, suggests that the government should increase subsidies for sight tests, and that optometry should involve wider services. This is to ensure that substantial progress can be made towards care pathways and integrated care in England.
The report came at a crucial time in England when the Health Bill was before Parliament, and also prior to a review of the General Ophthalmic Services in England. Prof Bosanquet suggested that eye health should be emphasised in the review. It should also involve a wide specification of the aims of the sight test, the definition of a wide range of first-line eye-care services in the community. Tariffs were suggested to be set at national prices so that commissioners can concentrate on improving quality and access. Prices were also suggested to reflect the realistic costs of efficient producers.
The report is in the view that the current skills of optometrists and opticians is often under-utilised, and that the full use of the skills of optometrists and opticians will help move towards integrated care in England. It also highlighted earlier reports from the National Eye Care Steering Group that optometrists are in an ideal position to take some of the workload from the hospitals -- not just for cataract services, but other acute and chronic eye conditions.
The report also cited some findings that visual problems are likely to cause falls that results in hospital admissions for elderly people. It concludes that a new contract for eye care is essential and must be supported by realistic fundings from the English government.
Some of the key points from the 2006 Bosanquet Report:
The (optometry/optical) sector is highly competitive in England and has shown a deflation in prices together with improving quality and access for customers over many years.
There are many new opportunities in improving services for patients with visual problems, particularly for patients suffering from long-term medical conditions.
Optometry/optical services in England often provide high quality sight tests in short notice. There have been considerable gains in the access and service in more deprived areas with many points of access throughout the country.
Current sight test entitlement system maximises choice and competition, and the sector has provided improved value for the National Health Service (NHS). The cost towards providing a sight test has been subsidised through the sales of spectacles, and this has not been an example of good practice in Government contracting where fair prices are agreed without hidden cross-subsidies on third parties. It is widely accepted that (1) the Government should pay a fair market price for services, and (2) that it should minimise distortions to free economic activity.
In summary, a new contract between optometry/opticianry services in England and the NHS would be the start of a very positive development in innovation and new services. There could be new kinds of joint development involving treatment as well as diagnosis.
About the writer: Yap Tiong Peng is a frequent contributor to optical news on the IGARD website. In this article, he reviewed a research report from Prof Nick Bosanquet of Imperial College in London. Yap Tiong Peng is coincidentally an ex-student of Prof Bosanquet, when he studied subjects in Health Economics and Decision Making in Healthcare during his time at Imperial College London. Tiong-Peng holds a Master degree and a D.I.C. from Imperial College London, and is also qualified with a UMIST BSc Honours degree in Optometry (Manchester). He is currently the Director of Clinical Services (Optometry) at IGARD (Singapore), Vice President of the University of Manchester Alumni Association in Singapore and Research Fellow in A.H. Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.
About Imperial College London: Consistently rated in the top 3 U.K. university insititutions, Imperial College London is a world leading science-based university. The 2006 THES World University Rankings place ImperialCollege at 9th position, behind Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, MIT, Yale, Stanford, CIT and Berkeley. Imperial College will celebrate its Centenary year in 2007. It also expects to then become wholly independent from the University of London, which represents a federation of many other top UK insitutions.
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