'Whether it's the public or private sector, people have to become much more aware of what they need to do to protect their health,' said Liberal MP.
Eye care has tended to fall through the cracks, both in Canada's healthcare system and in some benefits plans, the recent passage of Bill C-284 by the Government of Canada could begin to mark significant improvements in both areas.
In a webinar hosted by the Canadian Association of Optometrists, Liberal MP for Humber River-Black Creek, Judy Sgro emphasized the bill helped introduce the National Eye Care Strategy, which is now law.
“It’s really important that we find every opportunity to talk about vision care, not just because of C-284 but because it's an area that has been immensely neglected by all of us in the general community and as government leaders as well,” she said. “We really have done very little except do a lot of talking.”
Bill C-284 encompasses several key initiatives that will help improve prevention, treatment and vision rehabilitation for patients across Canada, including the designation of the month of February as Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Awareness Month.
Sgro, who also spearheaded the bill, sees this as long overdue.
"Having the ability to craft and introduce C-284 as a private members bill was a great honour for me, but it also gave me such an opportunity to meet so many people and to learn just how much bigger the issue is than most of us realize," she said.
Sgro outlined the National Eye Care Strategy will focus on four key areas: improving awareness, advancing research, ensuring access to modern treatments, and strengthening data collection. The Department of Health has been tasked with developing the strategy within 18 months, while Health Canada will be releasing consultation plans to inform the development of the strategy.
“This is not Pharmacare, it's not a diabetes strategy,” she asserted. “This is very specific to the four pillars of identifying the needs of healthcare professionals so that they can they have the training and guidance on the prevention and treatment of eye disease, which is critically important.”
“Unless you experience vision loss in one of your family members or yourself, you're indifferent, because you don't realize what it's like,” she added.
Vision care looks bleak
According to Fighting Blindness Canada, vision loss is an issue that affects over 1.2 million Canadians today, with more than eight million living with one of the top four eye diseases: age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.
Dr. Martin Spiro, president of the Canadian Association of Optometrists (CAO), emphasized the critical role optometrists play in early disease detection and overall eye care.
“As optometrists, we do most of the eye exams in this country… We specialize in the examination, diagnosis, treatment, management, and prevention of eye disease and disorders of the visual system,” he said.
“We know that many Canadians are concerned about their eye health,” he added, pointing to a recent CAO study that found 65 per cent express concern, with over 8 million Canadians at risk of an eye threatening condition that could lead to a blinding disease.
Despite this, many private health plans remain outdated. Current benefits plans only cover basic eye exams, advice and instruction and prescription referrals from optometrists while most private plans ignore modern diagnostic tools that could detect issues like glaucoma, macular degeneration, and even systemic diseases such as diabetes or hypertension.
“Eye exams go beyond the vision and the optical aspect of our patients’ needs,” he added. “By using modern day techniques and modern eye exams, we’re able to detect eye disease at an early stage, prevent them from impairing our patients’ vision and also detecting systemic diseases, ensuring they don't impact our patients’ lives.”
Spiro also acknowledged the out-of-pocket costs for treating dry eye disease, which has become increasingly common for most employees who work from home and stare in front of computer screens for hours a day.
“Many insurance plans don’t reflect modern-day optometry and eye care. A lot of people have different eye conditions that require other types of interventions or more frequent follow-ups that are currently, unfortunately, not being covered,” he said.
Consequently, the financial impact of ignoring preventive eye care is also significant, Spiro added.
“Many eye diseases, if caught early, are preventable, treatable, and likely won’t lead to an impairment. But if caught in an advanced stage, it really becomes either very complex or almost impossible to treat,” he said, emphasizing that ROI on early detection can be significant for plan sponsors because it can prevent over 90 per cent of vision loss in Canada.
Yet, Spiro noted that many group insurance plans still exclude routine imaging techniques such as Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), even though they are considered a standard of care in comprehensive eye exams. While some insurers are starting to adjust, the majority of private plans still lag behind, leaving many Canadians paying out of pocket for essential eye health services, he noted.
“When we look at the movement of the eyes, it's very important that they move together and they're aligned,” he explained. “A disruption in that process can lead to devastating impacts, such as double vision or more difficulty in visual processing, which often leads to the inability to read and process information correctly, absenteeism and decreased productivity as well.”
Spiro highlighted some groups who’ve recognized what modern eye care is and have started to adapt their benefits to incorporate the standard of care, pointing to the Canadian Armed Forces who increased their allowance for eye examinations to include the imaging techniques and Medavie Blue Cross who’ve also expanded their coverage for eye examinations, allowing for imaging techniques special types of glasses, contact lenses and vision therapy in their benefits.
“We don’t talk enough about prevention and eye care,” said Sgro. “Whether it’s the public sector or the private sector, people have to become much more aware of what they need to do to protect their health.”
“Everybody I look at is either wearing glasses, contacts or having some kind of vision problem today,” she added. “In consultation with many of you, we will develop a strategy that I hope will truly prevent macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, and many others.”
