The impact of managed eye care on use of vision services, vision costs, and patient satisfaction.
OBJECTIVE
This study was designed to evaluate the impact of introducing a managed vision benefit program on the use and costs of vision services in a managed care setting and also to assess satisfaction with those services after the program was introduced.


METHODS
Utilization and costs were compared for two groups of patients. The comparison group (n = 36,168) included all patients enrolled for 18 months before implementation of the managed eye-care plan. The study group (n = 23,816) included those enrolled for 18 months following its implementation. Medical claims, survey, and administrative data were used to evaluate study outcomes.


RESULTS
The overall use of vision care was similar before and after the introduction of the managed eye-care programs, with 24% of each group receiving at least one vision service during the 18-month period. Nevertheless, an increase in the use of routine eye-care services and a decrease in medical eye-care services were observed following program implementation. The overall cost of providing eye-care services to patients decreased from 1.86 dollars to 1.36 dollars per member per month after the program started, largely owing to a reduction in spending associated with medical eye-care services. More than 90% of patients surveyed were satisfied with their vision care provided by the program.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest that introducing routine and medical managed eye-care programs in a managed care setting allows for a reduction in medical costs while maintaining access to care and patient satisfaction.
Colman
Shoshana S
SS
Quintiles Strategic Research Services, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA. shoshana.colman@quintiles.com
Jones
R David
RD
Serdahl
Christian L
CL
Smith
F Mason
FM
Silva
Stefanie J
SJ
Schonfeld
Warren H
WH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D039702:Current Procedural Terminology; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D014481:United States