Early identification and intervention are important for many different health concerns, including age-related eye health issues. The earlier eye care professionals can identify these issues in patients, the better chance the patients have of maintaining their vision. Jessica Haynes, OD, shared the ways her practice supports an early detection and intervention approach.

Early Detection

Dr. Haynes stresses the importance for primary eye care providers to identify patients with any severity of age-related eye health issues. Early detection allows for early intervention, which helps patients reduce their risk of worsening age-related eye health issues. Dr. Haynes utilizes OCT scans to help her identify at-risk patients before they notice visual changes. She looks for indicators like:

• Reticular pseudodrusen
• Hyper-reflective foci
• Drusen regression
• Hyper-reflective columns

Another important component of early detection is categorizing patients in the correct stage of age-related eye health issues. Whether they are at-risk, showing early signs, or have intermediate to advanced age-related eye health issues, the care protocol differs for each. Therefore, you should be specific and consistent with how you identify your patients.

Macular Pigment Optical Density

Macular pigment optical density (MPOD) is a well-known risk factor for age-related eye health issues, and measuring MPOD can help find patients who are at a higher risk. Macular pigment is the part of the eye most affected by age-related eye health issues, and knowing a patients’ MPOD can help identify those in need of intervention before ocular changes occur. Additionally, some nutraceuticals can increase MPOD, helping to improve this age-related eye health risk factor and patients’ eye and overall health.

Early Intervention

The most important aspect of early intervention for Dr. Haynes is patient education. You must educate patients on their options so they can make an informed decision for their visual future. Additionally, eye care providers need to manage patient expectations when it comes to these care protocols. There is not a permanent solution for age-related eye health issues, and these issues are a lifelong concern once identified. It’s important that patients understand these two points.

While there are a handful of care protocols today, the gold standard for those patients with intermediate to advanced age-related eye health issues is supplementation with AREDS 2-based nutraceuticals or ocular injections. However, for those with early signs of age-related eye health issues or who may be at risk, little is done for them other than watch and wait.

The System to Support Both (and more)

EyePromise® offers a turnkey solution for both early detection and early intervention. The Zea Performance System™ helps you deliver vision for life to your patients through a trusted, intuitive, and portable MPOD measurement device, clinically proven nutraceuticals, industry-leading compliance program, and world-class customer support for you, your patients, and your staff.

MPOD Measurement

The Zx Pro™ is the latest in MPOD measurement technology. This portable, light-weight device is equipped with simple navigation for patients to self-administer the exam. The fast, non-invasive, monocular exam makes it easy to test almost any patient and delivers a numerical score to correlate to the patient’s level of risk for:

• Age-related eye health issues
• Blue light damage
• Night driving or day glare challenges
• Cognitive health concerns
• Eye health related to blood sugar control issues

Nutraceutical Prescription

EyePromise eye health nutraceuticals are the most science-supported, comprehensive line available. Each formula is expertly crafted with the highest quality, natural ingredients. Third-party tested by NSF International for quality, purity, and formulation (what’s on the label is what’s in each dose), you can trust that EyePromise nutraceuticals meet your patients’ needs.

EyePromise offers products for every stage of age-related eye health issues. From at-risk to advanced, EyePromise formulations are catered to deliver the very best patient outcomes. Additionally, EyePromise nutraceuticals are backed by a 60-day, money-back satisfaction guarantee and a 6-month MPOD increase guarantee.

Patient Compliance Support

The Auto Refill Program (ARP) is the industry-leading compliance program for eye health nutraceuticals. The ARP delivers automatic shipments of the prescribed EyePromise nutraceutical to the patient’s home, eliminating the need for office inventory and follow-up. Additionally, it offers your patients additional savings that they won’t get from purchasing online, including free shipping and discounted bottles. Enrollment is easy with your personalized e-commerce page (created and maintained by EyePromise) that can be added to any computer, allowing staff to implement the program easily and efficiently.

World-Class Customer Support

EyePromise has a live Customer Support team that acts as an extension of your practice helping to answer any patient questions and checking in with them to learn how their regimen is going. Available via phone, email, and chat feature, our experts can help Monday-Friday 8am-5pm most days of the year. They are also available to help your staff handle questions, concerns, and product and marketing material orders.

Caring for patients with age-related eye health issues is a long-term commitment, and EyePromise is here to help every step of the way. Learn more about becoming an EyePromise partner today!