Comparison of Outcomes of Glaucoma Screening in Primary Care and Community Settings

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose To compare outcomes of glaucoma screening in primary care and community settings, including the follow-up rates of subjects with positive screening results. Methods This was a comparative, prospective, non-randomized study. Subjects were recruited by medical students in community-based and primary care settings and screened for glaucoma using the same screening strategy. Results Two hundred and fifteen total patients were screened, 117 in community settings and 98 in primary care settings. Positive screenings were seen in 34% of patients in the community setting group (n = 40) and 40% of patients in the primary care setting group (n = 39). Of the patients who screened positive, 74% completed their initial follow-up appointment in the primary care setting group compared with 47.5% in the community-based setting group (p = .015). In the primary care setting, 18% were lost to follow up compared with 42.5% in the community-setting (P = .018). African-Americans were more likely to follow-up (P = .025) and less likely to be lost to follow-up (P = .033) in the primary care setting compared with the community-based setting. Conclusion Patients with a positive glaucoma screening result in a primary care setting are more likely to follow up than those in a community-based setting.