State Law and Early Eye Drop Refills

Adhering to an eye drop regimen can be difficult—especially for elderly patients with glaucoma. Those same patients often face an unexpected additional barrier to care when they run out of their medication and are denied early refills by a pharmacy or coverage by their insurance carrier. In today’s episode, Dr. Kevin McKinney talks about how his own advocacy efforts at the state level helped protect early eye drop refills in Oregon. He advises what other US clinicians can do to advocate for their patients and empower them to receive the care they need, while also helping them administer eye drops effectively.

Resources 

• The latest eye drop prescription refill legislation in your state (American Academy of Ophthalmology)
• Contact your state’s department of insurance (Forbes)
• Sample card for patients to use when requesting early refill of an eye drop prescription (Oregon Academy of Ophthalmology)

For all episodes or to claim CME credit for selected episodes, visit www.aao.org/podcasts.