PRNewswire
The Potomac Institute
for Policy Studies and The Glaucoma Foundation announced today that they
will be sponsoring a policy conference entitled, "Glaucoma screening and
treatment: Driving towards a unified federal and private sector policy
approach." The conference is in direct response to the publication of a
report by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) that
states that there is insufficient scientific evidence to support the
practice of screening for and treating glaucoma in the U.S. population.
Because of the report, there is an imminent possibility that patients
covered by private insurance will have access to screening and treatment
for glaucoma substantially restricted. The conference will take place at
the National Press Club on October 18, 2007. Under the leadership of former
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Louis Sullivan,
MD, leaders from the spheres of government, preventive medicine,
ophthalmology, and patient advocacy will meet in one forum to discuss the
merits of national screening guidelines for the eye disease glaucoma.
Speakers will include Hon. Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, former Administrator of
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, along with former Surgeons General.
Glaucoma is the second most common cause of legal blindness in the
United States. It affects an estimated 2.5 million persons in the United
States, 130,000 of whom will be blind as a result. Due to the rapidly aging
population, the number with glaucoma is expected to increase by 50 percent
to 3.36 million in 2020. Half of those with glaucoma may not be aware that
they have the disease. Early detection and treatment are crucial, given
that vision loss is irreversible once it has occurred.
Furthermore, African- and Latino-Americans have over three times the
prevalence of glaucoma compared to their white neighbors. In population
screening studies, 58 percent of African-Americans and 75 percent of
Latinos were not aware that they had the disease. Routine screening is an
even more important issue for these groups, as they have historically had
poor access to medical care.
The USPSTF finding against glaucoma screening is inconsistent with the
glaucoma screening benefit enacted by Congress as part of Medicare, the
policies of the Veterans Health Administration, the military healthcare
system, and the glaucoma screening measure implemented by the National
Committee for Quality Assurance throughout the managed care industry. It
also seemingly contradicts decades of NIH-sponsored research and the stated
policies of all professional societies that represent Ophthalmologists and
Optometrists.
"We find it shocking and incomprehensible that a recommendation of this
nature could have been issued with no opportunity for public comment and no
consultation with experts in the field," stated Dr. Dennis McBride,
President of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. "The purpose of the
conference is to examine the USPSTF findings in the context of known
scientific information about glaucoma and its treatment and to see whether
the USPSTF findings can be reconciled with any reasonable interpretation of
scientific fact."
Dr. Louis Sullivan, former Secretary of the Department of Health and
Human Services, will be the Honorary Chairman of the conference. "We, in
the medical and scientific communities, owe it to the American people to
develop a unified federal policy concerning the management of this serious
eye condition," he said.
"Considering the magnitude of visual impairment in our society and the
number of individuals who remain undiagnosed, it is important that the
entire healthcare community, particularly primary care physicians assist
with efforts to increase awareness about ocular hypertension and glaucoma,"
said Professor Eve Higginbotham, Dean of the Morehouse School of Medicine,
and one of the conference speakers. "Far too many individuals are going
blind unnecessarily, particularly in communities of color. Well designed
studies have identified specific risk factors which can aid in determining
who should be referred."
Professor Richard Parrish, Associate Dean of the University of Miami
School of Medicine, said, "I am hopeful that the conference will facilitate
an airing of all legitimate perspectives and cause the USPSTF to reevaluate
a scientific position that is potentially disastrous for two million
Americans with glaucoma."
Adm. Roscoe Moore, Asst. U.S. Surgeon General (Ret.), and Professor
Jonathan Javitt, MD, MPH, who has served as a White House healthcare
appointee in several Presidential administrations, are Senior Fellows of
the Potomac Institute and conference co-chairs. They offered the hope that,
"perhaps in this instance, representatives from the USPSTF, Department of
Health and Human Services, Department of Veterans Affairs, and leading
academic centers will meet to arrive at a unified approach to this key
health issue, before patients are harmed through loss of access to
sight-saving care."
Breakfast and lunch will be served at the conference. Members of the
working press are invited, but need to reserve in advance due to limited
seating.
The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is an independent, 501(c)(3),
not-for-profit public policy research institute. The Institute identifies
and aggressively shepherds discussion on key science, technology, and
national security issues facing our society, providing in particular, an
academic forum for the study of related policy issues. From these
discussions and forums, it develops meaningful policy options and ensures
their implementation at the intersection of business and government.
The Glaucoma Foundation is a not-for-profit organization committed to
leading the fight against glaucoma and to identifying new treatments and
cures.