UK app launched for people living with glaucoma
pharmafile | April 1, 2022 | News story | Medical Communications |
Santen UK has launched a new app for people living with glaucoma, in partnership with Glaucoma UK, the leading charity supporting people living with glaucoma in the UK. The app, MyGlaucoma, helps manage the condition, with features including eye drop reminders, an eye pressure tracker, and repeat prescription alerts.
The app includes information about Glaucoma UK, and the ways the charity can support people living with glaucoma, and their families. This app also provides advice on how to apply eye drops, and educational information on glaucoma through a daily fact.
Joanna Bradley, Head of Support Services at Glaucoma UK, commented: “Managing glaucoma can be challenging. It often requires people to take treatment daily, but research shows that almost half give up on treatment within six months. Eye drops are one of the top three reasons that people call our helpline, with questions ranging from when to schedule in their drops to how they should monitor side effects.”
In the UK, glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable vision loss and affects around 700,000. Glaucoma is commonly managed medically with the use of daily eye drops, but for this treatment to be effective it requires good adherence.
“Our aim when developing the app with Santen UK was to empower people to manage their glaucoma effectively by offering them the tools to do that as easily as possible,” continued Bradley. “We are delighted to have collaborated on the development of the MyGlaucoma app, as it’s such a useful digital monitoring record for people with glaucoma. We strongly believe that it will help people with glaucoma be more pro-active in logging their treatment and keeping track of their disease, and we will be encouraging our members to download it.”
Almost a third (29%) of people with glaucoma surveyed in the UK who use prescription eye drops to manage their condition, report not using them as frequently as prescribed.
Paul Campbell, Marketing Manager, Santen UK, concluded: “We hope that MyGlaucoma will support both those living with the condition and healthcare professionals by increasing adherence, providing important educational information and improving healthcare outcomes – ultimately, preserving sight and quality of life.”
Ana Ovey
