Dealing With the Rising Costs of Diabetic Retinopathy Treatment in the Philippines
Have you or someone you know been diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy (DR)? This common eye condition associated with diabetes can start out subtle but lead to vision loss or even blindness if left untreated. However, treatment and management don’t come cheap.
In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about the economic burden of managing DR in the Philippines – from diagnosis costs to long-term expenditures related to complications. We’ll also explore ways the country can improve access and affordability of quality eye care.
Battling eye issues is stressful enough without worrying about going broke in the process. Let’s dive in and shed some light on the reality of coping with DR-related costs in the Philippines.
Evaluating the Price Tags of DR Screening Methods
Catching DR early is crucial to prevent vision problems down the road. But how much will that screening set you back? Diagnosing issues in a timely manner can get expensive.
A cost-effectiveness analysis compared some common retinal imaging methods to detect DR through photography of the eyes. It looked at devices like the handy Smartscope and higher-end tools such as the RV700. Researchers evaluated critical metrics like each device’s ability to accurately catch cases of DR based on image quality. They also broke down the estimated price of testing per patient.
The analysis confirmed that tools requiring dilation of the pupils scored best for detecting disease early with clear photos. Though more advanced tech like the RV700 avoids the hassle of manually dilating the eyes, it produces lower quality images that can miss some DR cases. And that can drive up future costs if disease worsens untreated!
In the end, basic devices like the Aurora and Smartscope offered solid image clarity and accuracy when paired with dilation eye drops. This makes their estimated per patient screening costs of 500 to 1300 pesos seem reasonable to identify DR early. Catching issues before they escalate saves money over time – even if tools like the convenient RV700 seem temptingly affordable at first glance!
That’s just one glimpse of DR diagnosis expenses. But what about the bigger healthcare costs down the line?
Bracing For Long-Term Costs of Medications, Treatments & Complications
The early screening methods provide invaluable awareness to halt DR before it impacts vision severely. But when problems do arise, patients have to shell out for medications and other treatments that rack up over time. We’ll break down these long-term costs associated with managing worsening DR.
Paying a Premium for DR Medications
Once DR progresses, eye doctors usually prescribe medications to slow its advancement. This includes pricy eye injections to reduce leaking blood vessels and swelling. Doctors often recommend tablets or insulin to improve blood sugar control too since high blood glucose levels exacerbate DR exponentially.
A research study found patients with advanced DR complications shouldered medication costs eating up 28% of their total annual medical expenses. That included roughly 1000 pesos yearly for insulin and oral meds to manage blood sugar alone. Costs quickly snowballed from there between anti-inflammatory eye injections costing 1500 pesos each and high cholesterol prescriptions – none of which are one-time purchases.
And that’s before even considering the infusions and tablets needed to manage other diabetes-related health issues in the body beyond the eyes! Controlling both DR worsening AND issues like kidney disease requires an arsenal of medications over years. It’s certainly not cheap.
Hospital Stays and Medical Procedures Skyrocket Expenses
What if oral or injectables meds aren’t enough to slow vision loss? Patients may require hospital admissions for advanced treatments like surgery or dialysis if kidneys are damaged from diabetes.
A research study found patients hospitalized for DR paid over 1900 pesos daily for inpatient care! Common procedures like laser eye surgery or dialysis added hundreds to thousands extra per treatment session. Clinical fees and diagnostic tests administered during admissions tack on several hundred pesos more.
Clearly hospitalization significantly inflates the costs of managing worsening DR. Expenses for folks admitted with diabetes complications were found to be nearly 5 times higher than non-hospitalized people. That tallies up exponentially when recurring stays or procedures come into play.
Combating Complications Multiplies Medical Bills
As if vision loss weren’t troubling enough, DR also worsens other threatening health issues. Diabetes dramatically increases the likelihood of problems like cardiovascular disease, kidney failure or stroke. And battling these severe complications drives medical bills through the roof!
Research in Philippine hospitals discovered patients with advanced DR-related complications rack up over 3 times higher annual medical expenses than less severe cases. For example, study data showed dialysis treatment for kidney failure cost around 1500 pesos per session. Managing a comorbidity like kidney disease on top of diabetes and DR resulted in 4 to 6 times the healthcare costs annually.
Clearly, the stakes for controlling DR progression are extremely high financially. Keeping blood sugar and early eye issues in check can majorly pay off by preventing devastating complications and vision impairment down the road.
Coping With Loss of Earnings, Independence & More After Vision Impairment
Despite best efforts to halt DR progression, some patients still suffer substantial vision loss or blindness without quick access to advanced treatments. The physical, emotional and economic impacts make this outcome catastrophic for individuals and families. Let’s discuss why.
Quantifying Quality Years Lost to Blindness
Blindness or limited vision greatly reduces quality of daily living and life expectancy. In fact, health economists calculated losing vision from uncontrolled DR results in nearly 1 quality-adjusted life year (QALY) lost per person. This means going blind from diabetes may rob you of up to a whole year’s worth of healthy, mobile living over your lifetime!
QALYs help quantify the holistic benefits gained from access to quality healthcare and wellness resources. So losing almost 365 days of your highest functioning years due to preventable blindness emphasizes why supporting optimal DR screening and treatment programs matters tremendously.
Weighing Economic & Social Costs of Lost Vision
Diabetes-related vision impairment often prevents individuals from maintaining work and independence. Researchers found productivity losses due to uncontrolled DR cost the Philippines over 73 million pesos annually across the working-age population.
Add the personal realities of losing your livelihood and relying more on family or social services after going blind. Then factor in that health economists assign a value of around 150,000 pesos per person annually to account for these economic and social support costs after losing vision.
Clearly, ensuring access to interventions that catch DR early offers benefits for families, communities and the Philippines economy-at-large by preserving precious years of healthy vision and workplace productivity among diabetic patients.
Improving Screening and Care Coordination to Reduce Costs
Given the immense economic and personal costs of worsening DR outlined above, where should the Philippines focus efforts to curb expenses related to eye complications of diabetes?
Rallying Prevention & Early Screening Programs
Recall that simple retinal imaging with dilation drops offers reasonably accurate and affordable DR detection to catch issues early. Scaling community-based screening initiatives could encourage more timely diagnosis so patients access treatment before facing vision loss or needing hospitalization.
Some promising programs already underway feature:
- Free DR education and preventative health coaching
- Local volunteer-led screening events at churches and community centers
- Capacity-building programs that train village health workers for basic eye checks
Widespread local outreach programs like these make vital first steps toward more prevention-focused population health. And they cost mere fractions compared to charges for hospitalizations if DR goes undetected.
Coordinating Care Pathways to Widen Treatment Options
What good are screenings if high costs block access to needed medications after diagnosis? Unfortunately major barriers like low health coverage and limited approved medications pose challenges for optimal DR care coordination in the Philippines currently.
For example, many diabetes drugs proven effective to protect vision are unavailable in public hospitals. And special authority requests for uninsured individuals often get denied. Similarly, insurance restricts retinal injection coverage despite anti-VEGF shots slowing blindness dramatically.
That’s why there’s a public health call-to-action to restructure care pathways for uninsured and low-income populations most susceptible to DR progression. Health leaders urge expanded insurance formularies, subsidized treatment packages and centralized referral networks to bridge socioeconomic gaps limiting access.
Prioritizing coordinated care following positive screenings can save massive healthcare dollars down the road – making it a wise investment!
The bottom line? Diabetic retinopathy threatens to progress silently while remaining unchecked and underfunded. Boosting resources for screenings and prompt treatment offers a clear pathway to curb this growing public health crisis threatening the Philippines economy and healthcare system-at-large if blindness cases continue accumulating.
The personal tolls of losing vision make access to quality DR care non-negotiable too. All stakeholders must rally to reinforce programs ensuring every diabetic patient gets monitored and supported adequately despite socioeconomic obstacles. It’s time to curb count the rising costs and prevalence of blindness from inadequately managed diabetic eye disease in the Philippines!
