Page 12 - Retail Pharmacy Magazine October 2020

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 10 NEWS IN FOCUS RETAIL PHARMACY • OCT 2020 Annie Gibbins CEO, GLAUCOMA AUSTRALIA In the lead-up to World Sight Day on October 8, Marcela Araneda interviews the head of the organisation whose mission is to free Australians of glaucoma blindness. Annie, before we dive into the important work Glaucoma Australia does, please share with our readers a little of your professional background. I’m a change management CEO who delights in growing and transforming health and education businesses to dramatically enhance their stakeholder value and scientific research. My credentials include Master of Education, Graduate Diploma of Education, Bachelor of Health Science Nursing, Lean Six Sigma, Cert III & IV Fitness and MAICD. Combined with my 20 years of senior management experience in medical, not-for-profit and charity sectors, I specialise in strategic leadership and love pushing professional boundaries, innovative thinking, maximising synergic opportunities and producing ‘results’ that matter. Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible but preventable blindness worldwide. Why is this so? The most common type of glaucoma is primary open angle glaucoma. Its insidious nature means it often goes undiagnosed for many years. Without clinical detection, the person may lose up to 40 per cent of their sight before they notice, and this process is irreversible. The lack of eye health screening programs globally means there are approximately 80 million people with glaucoma, with more than 3.2 million people blind due to the disease. Besides being incredibly sad, it’s largely unnecessary as early intervention dramatically saves sight. The facts are that if every person over the age of 50 had their eyes tested for glaucoma every two years, this would lead to a massive increase in early detection, diagnosis and treatment. It’s when this practice becomes commonplace that Australians could be free of glaucoma blindness. What are the consequences of not detecting the disease sooner? Over time, significant vision loss occurs as the retinal ganglion cells become damaged and die. Therefore, the longer we take to detect and treat glaucoma, the more damage there is to the optic nerve and visual field. Half of the estimated 300,000 affected Australians are currently unaware they have glaucoma. Who are these people in terms of demographics? We know that 23-56 per cent of these people have a relative diagnosed with glaucoma, which is why we focus our risk awareness campaign on ‘get your family tested’. Other risk factors include ageing (one in eight 80-year-olds have glaucoma), high eye pressure, African or Asian ethnicity, diabetes, short or long sightedness, a previous eye injury, past or present prolonged use of cortisone drugs (steroids) and migraine. Glaucoma Australia is amplifying its ‘Don’t be blindsided’ risk awareness campaign for World Sight Day (October 8). Can you talk us through the meaning behind the campaign? Glaucoma is often called the sneak thief of sight, as irreversible but preventable sight loss often occurs without pain or visual awareness. The ‘Don’t be blindsided’ campaign draws attention to the fact a significant amount of peripheral vision loss can occur without the person noticing. It drives those at risk to have regular eye testing by an optometrist, as their equipment can detect glaucoma at the earliest opportunity. Treatment designed to lower eye pressure and minimise sight loss can then be initiated, along with an ongoing collaborative care plan. The four-stage patient support journey implemented by Glaucoma Australia a couple of years ago involved a series of resources to build a support community for patients. Can you please share with us what this involved and where the initiative is at? Glaucoma Australia has a vision for Australians to be free of glaucoma blindness. To achieve this, we need to help people with glaucoma get detected early and adhere to their treatment management plan so they can prevent irreversible sight loss and maintain their quality of life with confidence in their eye health. In 2018, Glaucoma Australia designed a comprehensive referral response pathway, which offers a tailored four- stage patient support journey designed to improve appointment adherence, improve treatment adherence, increase glaucoma knowledge, reduce anxiety related to glaucoma and increase family link testing. In stage one, optometrists refer patients to Glaucoma Australia they ‘suspect’ of having glaucoma. The reason they are referred so early is because approximately one third of patients don’t intend to attend their recommended ophthalmology appointment without intervention, and many have significant anxiety around their ‘blinding eye disease’ diagnosis. For this reason, Glaucoma Australia offers education and emotional support while promoting the need to attend the ophthalmology appointment.