Save our Sight (SOS): a collective call-to-action for enhanced retinal care across health systems in high income countries

With a growing aging population, the prevalence of age-related eye disease and associated eye care is expected to increase. The anticipated growth in demand, coupled with recent medical advances that have transformed eye care for people living with retinal diseases, particularly neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and diabetic eye disease, has presented an opportunity for health systems to proactively manage the expected burden of these diseases. To do so, we must take collective action to address existing and anticipated capacity limitations by designing and implementing sustainable strategies that enable health systems to provide an optimal standard of care. Sufficient capacity will enable us to streamline and personalize the patient experience, reduce treatment burden, enable more equitable access to care and ensure optimal health outcomes. Through a multi-modal approach that gathered unbiased perspectives from clinical experts and patient advocates from eight high-income countries, substantiated perspectives with evidence from the published literature and validated findings with the broader eye care community, we have exposed capacity challenges that are motivating the community to take action and advocate for change. Herein, we propose a collective call-to-action for the future management of retinal diseases and potential strategies to achieve better health outcomes for individuals at-risk of, or living with, retinal disease.

Automated summary

With the aging population increasing, there is a higher prevalence of age-related eye disease and associated eye care. The demand for eye care is expected to grow, especially for retinal diseases such as nAMD and diabetic eye disease. To manage this expected burden, collective action is needed to address capacity limitations and implement sustainable strategies. Sufficient capacity will result in streamlined and personalized patient care, reduced treatment burden, equitable access, and optimal health outcomes. A multi-modal approach involving clinical experts, patient advocates, and evidence-based perspectives has identified capacity challenges and proposed strategies for better management of retinal diseases.