Page 13 - Retail Pharmacy Magazine October 2020

Stage two is activated after the patient attends their ophthalmologist appointment and has their glaucoma diagnosis confirmed. If the patient wasn’t referred in stage one, they should be referred to Glaucoma Australia by their ophthalmologist or pharmacist. It’s common for patients to have many time-consuming questions about their diagnosis, treatment plan and ongoing management after their appointment, and our orthoptist educators are able to provide free education and support, which can be tailored to patient specific needs. Stage three is activated six to 12 months post diagnosis and is focused firmly on improving treatment adherence. Knowing the national glaucoma eyedrop adherence rate is 36-50 per cent within 12 months of diagnosis, the glaucoma educators build on earlier patient education and provide support to address and rectify adherence issues before they become problematic. Glaucoma Australia encourages pharmacists to refer all patients being prescribed glaucoma medication via glaucoma.org.au, so we can work collaboratively to improve adherence rates and prevent irreversible sight loss during this initial stage of habit forming.Stage four is activated 12 months post diagnosis and continues ongoing. Referrals to Glaucoma Australia can be made at any time, but the earlier a patient gains support, the better. Patients benefit from accessing the free educator hotline, patient friendly website resources, e-news, research updates and active support groups. The key focus is on improving quality of life outcomes while living with glaucoma. You’ve mentioned the importance of all involved in the detection and management of glaucoma working together for better results. What specific role do pharmacists have? From a detection perspective, pharmacists are in the best position to refer those at risk to get tested by an optometrist. They see customers 12-14 times per year, have strong rapport and are seen as a highly credible and influential patient advocate. Free brochures and digital assets can be accessed from Glaucoma Australia to assist this process. To defeat glaucoma blindness, our ‘Every hero needs a sidekick’ campaign is framed around the eye health professional being the hero and Glaucoma Australia supporting them when required. For example, many patients need support with eyedrop application, technique and storage, or have questions about laser or surgery. As soon as a patient is referred to Glaucoma Australia, they will join the patient support journey at their relevant stage and be provided with the information they require, in a relaxed and timely manner. Referrals can be made via Oculo, glaucoma.org.au, brochure or phone. How can pharmacists identify customers at risk? According to national eye health guidelines, pharmacists should recommend all customers get their eyes tested by an optometrist every two years from age 50, or 40 if they have a family history of glaucoma. The best time for pharmacists to have a glaucoma conversation is when dispensing medications to customers with one or more of the key risk factors mentioned earlier. Can you provide our readers with some ideas and initiatives they could implement to encourage customers at risk to get tested? Glaucoma Awareness Week and World Sight Days are perfect opportunities to leverage off when raising eye health awareness with their customers. Considering the direct relatives of those with glaucoma have 10 times the risk of developing glaucoma, all customers being dispensed a medication for glaucoma should be asked to tell their relatives to get tested. Has Covid-19 had any impact on the detection and management of glaucoma? If so, what are those challenges and how can they be overcome? In 2020, a week after Glaucoma Awareness Week, Covid precautions led to many stores, practices and surgeries closing to non-essential services. While those patients needing prescription refills and urgent treatment could still access services, there was a massive reduction in glaucoma testing, new referrals and initial appointments. During this time Glaucoma Australia offered regular Facebook Live education sessions and news updates so our community could access key information direct from a variety of eye health professionals. NEWS IN FOCUS 11 Helen Stone, a pharmacist from SA, hosted one of these popular sessions, ‘Accessing your medicines in a rapidly changing world’. How important is the work of ambassadors, such as musician Kirk Pengilly, in spreading the word? Why do you think messages coming from him are so effective? The benefit of having high-profile patrons and ambassadors is priceless for a charity, and we’re fortunate to have David Hurley, Governor-General of Australia, as our Patron and Kirk Pengilly from the band INXS as one of our ambassadors. This year Mr Hurley led by example by getting his eyes tested for glaucoma and spoke at a patient symposium, which was viewed by a global audience. Mr Pengilly was the face of our ‘Don’t be blindsided’ risk awareness campaign and his reach alone meant 12 million Australians heard his personal message that glaucoma can happen to anyone. Their call to action is: ‘If at risk, get your eyes tested by an optometrist every two years’; and if you have glaucoma: ‘Every drop saves sight’. What other initiatives do you have in place to keep spreading the word and how are you adjusting those to suit a Covid-19 environment? Glaucoma Australia has an ‘always on’ detect-and-defeat strategy, which means we don’t just wait until World Glaucoma Week or World Sight Day to spread our sight-saving message. We share it 24/7, 365 days a year. Over the past two years, we shifted many of our service offerings online. However, Covid provided the reason to push us fully online. Our state-based face-to-face groups have quickly adapted to our popular Facebook Live events with clinical hosts from ophthalmology, optometry and pharmacy. Our monthly eNews provides updates on glaucoma detection, treatment and research, and our risk awareness campaigns are fully digital and have a strong presence on social media. As referral numbers continue to grow, our patient support is fully automated for those preferring digital support over phone contact. A full suite of digital assets is available for health professionals to use and can be downloaded free of charge from glaucoma.org.au RETAIL PHARMACY • OCT 2020