The Ontario government is putting people’s eyesight at risk, according to doctors and patients angry about recent health care cuts.
The province is reducing the amount it pays for some diagnostic tests, including a high-tech eye scan that detects glaucoma and macular degeneration. The government argues physicians have been charging the system too much.
“We really want to put any additional money we have to where it will make the biggest difference for patients,” Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews says. “None of the changes we’ve made will impact patient care.”
“We looked at where technology has reduced in cost or where technology has improved.”
But Bob Shiry says the cuts have caught up to him, and his vision is at stake. “It’s not going to be just me – there are thousands of other people.”
“It’s like we’re going backwards medically, and not having these scans available is going to increase the vision loss in Canadians.”
On Tuesday, he had an optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan performed. It’s expensive, but doctors say it’s vital to tracking and treating eye diseases that lead to blindness.
Shiry may have glaucoma, which means he needs to have his vision tested every few months to see if the disease is progressing.
But this will be his final test, because it’s one the government has cut funding to, and his ophthalmologist can’t afford to provide it. “This recent regulation by the government decreases the funding to this test by 80 per cent,” Dr. Brad McCuaig tells Global National‘s Jennifer Tryon. “That will make it very difficult for physicians’ offices and private clinics to continue to provide this technology given that it would be provided at a loss.”
McCuaig says an OCT scan offers a lot of advantages. “It’s a very high resolution scan of the eye, of the retina and optic nerve. That test gives us information for a number of diseases…for retinal diseases, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and these are the most common diseases that cause visual loss in the aging population.”
“These tests are absolutely imperative to manage their diseases and provide them with the best possible care.”
Shiry adds, “With the old test, by the time it’s detected, the vision loss is gone. And so now we have a way of doing early detection and we’re not using it.”
Doctors do profit from diagnostic testing, but ophthalmologists like McCuaig say the government has lost focus on patients because investing and providing this technology prevents vision loss.
Treatment for macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness among Canadians, requires this testing every month.
“Truthfully, we really cannot manage these diseases effectively without this technology,” says McCuaig.
And accessing the test is not easy. “It is frustrating because they’re basically cutting off the access for this test… If Bob wanted to pull out his wallet and pay for a test, he actually isn’t allowed to do that.”
The province of Ontario will now pay just $25 for the $63 test, and will only pay a maximum of four of these exams per year.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty wants all provinces to follow suit to bolster his government’s decision, and to prevent doctors from relocating to places where higher fees can be charged.
Matthews thinks doctors are making enough cash. “We’ve seen a dramatic increase in average compensation. The average doctor is billing $385,000 and in some of those specialties, the average is $666,000 per year, that’s $250,000 more than just eight years ago.”
“They’ve been able to drastically increase their income because of advancements in technology. I think those benefits should be shared with all Ontarians.”
But patients losing their vision say they suffer the most when governments are blinded by cost savings.
“I was quite upset about it, knowing that we have the technology to determine this ahead of time, and because of cuts, it’s no longer an available option,” says Shiry.
McCuaig adds, “I think it’s very clear that these decisions are going to affect our ability to deliver the best care we know how, and ultimately in my field, patients will lose vision as a result of these changes.”
With files from Global National’s Jennifer Tryon
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