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News
Previous News Items
- Forging Community Partnerships
- Clients and Referrers Rate CFEH Highly
- Ophthalmologist Tops Referrals
- Looking Ahead: CFEH Moves Forward
- Diabetics Unnecessarily Losing Vision
- 175,000 Australians Not Being Checked For Diabetes-Related Blindness
- Over 6,000 Referred to Centre
- Referrers and patients rate CFEH
- Imaging At Your Service: A Glaucoma Case Study
- CFEH Helps Combat Macular Degeneration
- CPD Event :: Monday 1st August 2011
- The Future of Eyes and Diabetic Neuropathy
- Are you and your patients making the most of CFEH?
- Seeing Is Believing
- Celebrating one year of helping Australians preserve their vision
- Saving sight, saving lives
- New approach on-track with optometrists
- Early detection, the magic bullet
- Broadening the SCOPE for optometrists
- CFEH celebrates one year anniversary
May 27, 2011
During Macular Degeneration (MD) Awareness Week, Centre for Eye Health (CFEH) helped to draw attention to this serious eye disease and how optometrists can help reduce its impact on the Australian community.
MD is responsible for 48% of severe vision loss in Australia and is the leading cause of blindness, affecting one in seven people over the age of 50. Those with family history have a 50% chance of developing the disease, and smokers are three times more likely. We commend the Macular Degeneration Foundation for its wonderful work and recommend that you join them, and us, in the fight against vision loss from MD by ensuring that susceptible patients are given every opportunity for early detection.
A weapon in the battle against MD
MD is the second most detected eye disease at CFEH, accounting for 23% of confirmed diagnoses, and macula assessments represent 33% of referrals. Optometrists frequently refer patients for further investigation because they are deemed at-risk of developing MD (based on family history or lifestyle factors) or are suspected of early MD (based on their own clinical findings).
An important free service here to help
Many at-risk or suspect patients cannot afford to wait for advanced imaging, or may not be able to afford to pay for private diagnostic services. The good news is that CFEH provides advanced imaging and assessment at no-charge. The patient is not unnecessarily burdened with fees, but can also be referred by you to a specialist if and when required.
An extension of your practice
The Centre’s highly qualified clinical staff use state-of-the-art equipment, such as the Cirrus and Spectralis OCT’s, to provide detailed information and establish a baseline to monitor early changes. Consultant ophthalmologists review cases as required and when specialist care is recommended.
How to utilise CFEH
- Offer CFEH as an option to patients who are:
a. At-risk of developing, or suspected of already having, Macular Degeneration; and
b. Financially disadvantaged (eg low income earners or pensioners). - Attend our regular SCOPE events to stay abreast of advanced imaging and assessment capabilities that can assist.
- Visit CFEH and observe patient consultations.
- Call our Referrer Hotline: (02) 8115-0777.
