Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Management of Patients with nAMD and DME in China: Insights from a Global Survey on Anti-VEGF Therapy.

INTRODUCTION

This survey investigated the challenges and opportunities during anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy in Chinese patients.

METHODS

The survey was conducted in six hospitals from different regions in China, as part of the Barometer global survey. Paper-based optical mark recognition (OMR) questionnaires were answered by 498 and 527 patients who had been diagnosed with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME), respectively, and were currently receiving or had previously received anti-VEGF injections, and by physicians who prescribe and/or administer anti-VEGF injections for the treatment of nAMD/DME. A total of 105 nAMD physicians and 105 DME physicians completed the questionnaire.

RESULTS

More than half of patients with DME (60.7%) and doctors (69.5%) identified long periods of waiting during the appointment as a challenge. Over 85% of physicians and 55% of patients identified the limitation on number of treatments covered by insurance plans as another main challenge. The main opportunities to improve patient care agreed upon by physicians and patients were the provision of financial assistance with drug/prescription costs and lifting of reimbursement restrictions (84.3-94.3%), less frequent appointments, longer time in between treatments without compromising vision (82.9-95.2%), and increasing predictability of the injection schedule (83.9-95.2%). Over 90% of doctors and patients agreed that more time for doctors to answer questions/concerns during each appointment is an important need to strengthen communication.

CONCLUSION

Lifting reimbursement limits, reducing appointments and extending the time between treatments without compromising vision, and increasing the time available to answer patient questions at each visit are key opportunities to improve patients' adherence and persistence for anti-VEGF therapy.