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Cost-Effectiveness of the Screening and Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy: What Are the Costs of Underutilization?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2009

A. Mark Fendrick
Affiliation:
Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care (SBU) and University of Pennsylvania
Jonathan C. Javitt
Affiliation:
Georgetown University Medical Center
Yen Pin Chiang
Affiliation:
Georgetown University Medical Center

Abstract

Diabetic retinal disease remains a leading cause of visual disability among those of working age. Controlled trials have demonstrated that timely diagnosis and photocoagulation treatment can reduce significantly the likelihood of visual impairment in affected diabetic patients. Using a prospective simulation model, we show that an annual screening and treatment program saves thousands of years of vision and reduces medical expenditures over the lifetime of a cohort of Swedish Type I diabetic patients.

Type
General Essays
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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