Did COVID-19 Stall Eye Procedures in Medicare Beneficiaries?

TOPLINE:

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a 17.9% overall reduction in the rate of common ophthalmic procedures among Medicare beneficiaries, with laser peripheral iridotomy showing the steepest decline. The Northeast, one of the regions most affected by the pandemic, experienced the steepest declines, particularly in cataract surgeries.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study comparing Medicare Part B National Summary Data Files between calendar years 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic) and 2020 (during the pandemic) to assess changes in the rates of the 10 most common ophthalmic procedures among Medicare beneficiaries and to investigate geographic disparities in these changes.
• They analyzed nearly 3.9 million procedure entries in 2019 and roughly 3.2 million interventions in 2020.
• The primary outcome was the percentage change in the number of beneficiaries for each of the 10 most common ophthalmic procedures across all states.

TAKEAWAY:

• An overall decrease of 17.9% was observed in the rates of the 10 most common ophthalmic procedures from 2019 to 2020 (99% CI, −24.8% to −11.3%).
• Laser peripheral iridotomy showed the largest reduction at 43.6% (99% CI, −51.7% to −31.9%), whereas injection of eye drugs showed the smallest reduction at 1.5% (99% CI, −3.3% to 0.3%); cataract surgeries fell by 23.0% (99% CI, −28.8% to −18.7%).
• A detailed analysis of geographic variations in the decline of ophthalmic procedures revealed that the Northeast region, significantly affected by the pandemic, experienced the largest reduction in cataract surgeries (27.9%; 99% CI, −32.8% to −22.3%).

IN PRACTICE:

“These results demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a reduced frequency of common ophthalmic procedures, with the greatest reductions observed in iris revisions and notable regional differences, suggesting the need for further investigation into the underlying factors contributing to these variations and highlighting the importance of targeted recovery efforts in affected areas,” the authors of the study wrote.

“Perhaps the most important topic for future research on pandemic and other event-related or exposure-related changes to treatment is long-term patient outcomes,” experts wrote in an editorial accompanying the journal article.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Raziyeh Mahmoudzadeh, MD, of the Department of Ophthalmology at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Mariam Samuel, MS, of Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, both in Richmond, Virginia. It was published online on February 6, 2025, in JAMA Ophthalmology.

LIMITATIONS:

The analysis was restricted to publicly available data through December 2020, limiting the ability to examine how the patterns evolved beyond the initial year of the pandemic. The study focused on Medicare beneficiaries, who are primarily individuals aged ≥ 65 years, those aged

DISCLOSURES:

This study did not report any source of funding. One author reported receiving personal fees from some pharmaceutical companies outside the submitted work.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.