LASIK Eye Surgery Market Research Report- Forecast till 2030

Impact of COVID- 19 on Lasik Eye Surgery Market

As COVID-19 continues to spread internationally, the disease increasingly is becoming a cause for concern throughout the healthcare field, including the ophthalmology community. According to the National Eye Institute, more than 150 million Americans have a refractive error, the most common type of vision problem. According to NVISION Eye Centers, as of June 2018, about 9.5 million Americans have undergone the surgery.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance on March 18, 2020, asking healthcare providers to postpone adult elective surgeries and procedures, including ophthalmic procedures, until further notice. The move is an attempt to preserve the supply of ventilators and personal protective equipment such as masks and gowns while protecting patients and staff from exposure to the coronavirus.

CMS recommended that hospitals and healthcare providers consider the following factors when deciding whether elective surgery should proceed:

• Current and projected COVID-19 cases in the facility and region


• The supply of personal protective equipment to the facilities in a healthcare system


• Staff availability


• Bed availability, especially the intensive care unit (ICU) beds


• Ventilator availability


• Health and age of the patient, especially given the risks of concurrent COVID-19 infection during recovery


• Urgency of the procedure

Following are the major changes following the COVID–19 outbreak:

• The American Academy of Ophthalmology strongly recommends that all ophthalmologists provide only urgent or emergent care. This includes both office-based care and surgical care

• Ophthalmologists should seriously consider both the intensity of clinic scheduling and the issue of elective surgeries, particularly in elderly patients and those with chronic medical conditions

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued mitigation plans, including a recommendation for the cancellation or reduction of elective procedures in health care settings, for the following communities: Santa Clara, California; New Rochelle, New York; Florida; Massachusetts; and Seattle, Washington

• Outpatient clinics:
  
  
  
  • Ophthalmology practices should reconfigure examination schedule templates to decompress their waiting areas and consider alternatives such as encouraging patients to wait in other locations (e.g., their cars or outdoor spaces).
  
  
  • Mobile phone calls or other approaches can be used by office staff to notify patients when they should return to the office.
  
  
  
  

Elective surgical procedures:

Recommendations from the American College of Surgeons regarding minimizing, postponing, or canceling elective surgeries are followed by ophthalmic hospitals. In addition, circumstances vary for hospitals, hospital-based outpatient surgery departments, freestanding ASCs, and office-based procedures. However, all ophthalmologists should be prepared to adjust their surgical volumes as local circumstances dictate. Even outpatient ASC-based procedures may expose other patients and health care workers to virus shed from asymptomatic patients. Elective surgical procedures also deplete scarce personal protective equipment, including but not limited to masks and face shields

Effect of COVID-19 related lockdown on ophthalmic practice and patient care in India:

The government of India ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21 days, limiting the movement of people as a preventive measure. A survey was designed and conducted during the lockdown period to assess its effect on ophthalmic practice and patient care in India wherein 1260 ophthalmologists responded to the survey.

5% of the respondents (913/1260) were not seeing any patients due to the lockdown

• The proportion of ophthalmologists in ophthalmic institutes, government and municipal hospitals (49.8%) who were still seeing patients was significantly higher than those in private practice (22.4%)


• Apart from emergencies such as trauma, retinal detachment, and endophthalmitis (81.8%), other surgeries that were still being performed included intravitreal injections (9.1%) and cataract surgeries (5.9%)

• Approximately, 77.5% of the respondents had begun telephonic/e-mail/video consultations or consultations over social media applications since the lockdown began


• In addition, 59.1% felt that ophthalmologists were potentially at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 compared to other specialties while examining patients


• When asked about the resumption of practice upon easing off of the restrictions, 57.8% of the respondents said they were unsure of when to resume elective surgeries


• Furthermore, 62.8% were unsure about the preferred screening strategy or precautionary approach prior to resuming surgeries and were awaiting guidelines

Conclusion: The survey shows that majority of ophthalmologists in India were not seeing patients during the COVID-19 lockdown, with the near-total cessation of elective surgeries. Emergency services were still being attended to by 27.5% of ophthalmologists who responded. A large proportion of ophthalmologists had switched over to telephonic advice or other forms of telemedicine to assist patients.

Source: Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, MRFR Analysis

Source: Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, MRFR Analysis

Source: Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, MRFR Analysis

Source: Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, MRFR Analysis