Equip Your Staff to Educate and Assist Patients

Patients struggle to properly use the topical glaucoma medications they have been prescribed^1-3 for a variety of reasons. Fixed-combination drops can help to move them toward adherence by simplifying the treatment regimen. Communication and interaction between patients and technicians and staff in a practice can also help. “A well-educated staff can answer all types of questions that patients may not ask the doctor,” says L. Jay Katz, MD, director of the Wills Eye Institute Glaucoma Service and professor of Ophthalmology at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. “In our practice, staff also handle calls from patients about the costs of their medications and are always aware of which drug manufacturers have discount programs and coupons so they can call them to patients’ attention.”

Dr. Katz and other physicians point out that in order to accurately answer patient questions and assist the doctor, all staff members should have a clear understanding of the differences between the various medications and their bottles, such as shape and cap color. If not, problems, one in particular related to generic versions of Cosopt, can occur. As Nathan Radcliffe, MD, director of the Glaucoma Service and clinical assistant professor at New York University Langone Ophthalmology Associates, explains, “If a staff member doesn’t know to read past the word dorzolamide on a generic Cosopt bottle and instead notes that the patient is taking only dorzolamide, it may lead the physician to make an errant treatment recommendation. For example, he or she may prescribe a beta blocker or beta-blocker-containing fixed combination when in fact timolol is already included in what the patient is using.”

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