According to updated guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), patients newly diagnosed with glaucoma and ocular hypertension (OHT) should initially be offered selective laser therapy instead of eye drops. The change in approach will reduce the use of eye drops and potentially decrease the need for some patients to have cataracts or intraocular pressure-lowering surgery thereby generating cost-savings.
Indeed, NICE estimates that implementing the updated guidelines for England in the next five years will generate savings of around £87,500 in 2021/22, rising to around £400,000 by 2025/26.