Through the program 'Your retina matters', launched by Novartis, the diagnosis and management of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic macular edema (DMD), the main causes of blindness in Spain
With the aim of optimizing health care for the main retinal pathologies that cause blindness and alleviate the effects that COVID-19 has had on the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients, the Moisès Broggi Hospital Complex s has joined the solidarity program 'Your Retina Matters', an initiative launched by Novartis to support the approach to Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) in health centers throughout Spain.
AMD is a degenerative disease that gradually decreases central vision. It is the main cause of legal blindness in Spain, and more than 800.000 people suffer from it1. EMD, on the other hand, arises as a complication of diabetic retinopathy – the second cause of blindness – and consists of inflammation of the retina due to the loss of fluid from the blood vessels in the macula.
These are diseases of the retina in which intravitreal treatment with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) drugs is usually used, which must be administered early and continuously to be effective and avoid progression to blindness. However, the health crisis resulting from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in Spain has had a considerable effect on the care process for these pathologies, causing the delay in diagnosis, the increase in the waiting time to receive treatment and the reduction of adherence due to the fear of patients with AMD and EMD to attend health centers.
The head of the Ophthalmology Service at the Moisès Broggi Hospital Complex, Carlos Barnés, comments that "Intravitreal antiangiogenic treatments have reduced blindness by half since their introduction into routine clinical practice 15 years ago. But its effectiveness is closely related to the diagnosis and early treatment. In these treatments, the delay in diagnosis and treatment confers a much worse prognosis and a high risk of blindness."
Through the project 'Your Retina Matters', the capacity for diagnosis and treatment of both pathologies will be strengthened at the Moisès Broggi Hospital Complex in the consultations of the Specialized Care Centers (CAE) Ronda de Torrassa and Cornellà de Llobregat, and this way the patient will be able to benefit from an early diagnosis, start treatment as soon as possible and reduce waiting lists.
In particular, it is intended to alleviate the increase of more than 15 days in the waiting lists for diagnosis and treatment of these pathologies and the reduction of intravitreal treatment capacity by 43% since the declaration of 'State of Alarm. Novartis will offer its collaboration to recover pre-pandemic care levels through joint work with the professionals of these centers and the transfer of specific machinery for carrying out diagnostic and follow-up tests.
The change of care model to a single act is the great benefit for the patient, as Carlos Barnés explains: "The pandemic has meant that we have to optimize the efficiency of our processes. With the classic model, the patient must attend the doctor three times to have a diagnosis and start treatment. Through the single act, the patient receives a complete visit with the complementary tests necessary for his diagnosis and clear therapeutic guidance on the same day. In this way, we reduce the number of second visits by favoring the accessibility of the system and reduce the time to start treatment, which is crucial for the good prognosis of these patients. To perform a unique act in the CAEs, we need to provide them with the necessary technical means and the OCTs, which have been installed thanks to the La teva retina importa program, are an essential part of this arsenal”.
The project seeks to improve the care quality of AMD and EMD, reduce waiting times, improve the patient experience and optimize the care processes of the health centers involved. In the words of Álex Sanfeliu, Director of Ophthalmology at Novartis España, "Novartis' commitment to patients and society goes beyond research and treatments. We want to provide solutions that have a significant impact on the lives of people with these prevalent and disabling retinal diseases. If we have learned anything during the pandemic, it is the need for all actors in the field of health to work together to contribute to the recovery of healthcare activity".
