Researchers led by Carl J. Writer of Arizona State University, who has interned for John Hovanesian, MD, set out to identify trends in treatment satisfaction in relation to eye drop medication volume, local and systemic side effects, and monthly cost among glaucoma patients in a private ophthalmology group practice. This paper took first place in the glaucoma category at the recent 2020 ASCRS Virtual Annual Meeting.

An electronic questionnaire was sent to 881 patients taking glaucoma eye drops. The survey queried about type of medication (brand name and generic), side effects, satisfaction, monthly cost of medication, how well patients understand their treatment/drop schedule, and frequency of medication. A significant correlation was identified between the perceived volume of medication and treatment satisfaction. Patients who were prescribed timolol, timolol/brimonidine, and carbonic anhydrase inhibitors reported receiving the highest volume of medication and were also the most satisfied with treatment overall. Patients prescribed latanoprost, timolol, and timolol/dorzolamide reported the most cost effectiveness. Perceived bottle volume correlated most strongly with treatment satisfaction, as did lower medication cost. The presence of side effects had only minimal correlation with satisfaction.