Eyeworld

EW MEETING REPORTER 76 June 2016 Reporting from the 2016 ASCRS•ASOA Medication compliance innovations a hot topic at Glaucoma Day Innovations in medication adher- ence are slowly reaching ophthal- mology—and glaucoma—and may lead to better patient compliance— a notorious problem area in glau- coma, said Rohit Krishna, MD, Kansas City, Missouri, during ASCRS Glaucoma Day. Twenty to 30% of medications are never filled, and 50% of medications are not taken as prescribed, Dr. Krishna said. Yet new innovations within medication compliance may boost adherence by up to 40%, he said. There will be increasing use of technology in the future to assist with better compli- ance, he explained. For example, smart sensors can be used in pills; these pills come with a microchip that is ingested with the medication and enable medical professionals to track if a pill has actually been taken. Another approach used in some other spe- cialties is a pillbox that lights up and beeps when it is time to take medi- cation. These newer approaches can provide feedback to professionals or electronic medical record systems to confirm if patients have taken their medication. Dr. Krishna thinks there is the potential to use these same approaches even with eye drops. Mobile phone technology is another area being used to increase medication compliance. For exam- ple, medication reminder apps, live video interfaces with pharmacy staff, and even the use of rewards for tak- ing medications are all having some success. Some practices are designing apps that communicate with pa- tients via mobile technology to help remind them when to take medica- tion, Dr. Krishna said. One such app has been designed by the Singapore National Eye Centre. Two punctal plug approaches that provide the sustained release of latanoprost—the Punctal Plug Delivery System (Mati Therapeutics, Austin, Texas) and Dextenza (Ocular Therapeutix, Bedford, Massachu- setts)—can last for up to 3 months and have a retention rate of 95%, said Richard Lewis, MD, Sacramen- to, California. Dextenza is slated for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in July. Another unique approach to drug delivery is gel eye drops, which Dr. Lewis described as a "very inves- tigational concept" that is not yet studied in humans. The drops turn into a stable gel and release in the eye for up to a month. Other long-term approaches that are being studied now in- clude subconjunctival inserts and drug-eluting contact lenses. Reporting from the 2016 ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress, May 6–10, 2016 New Orleans Sponsored by

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