Managing the complexities of glaucoma care with Ying Han, MD, PhD

At the Glaucoma 360 meeting that was held in San Francisco, California, Ophthalmology Times has the opportunity to interview Ying Han, MD, PhD, a professor of ophthalmology and glaucoma specialist from the University of California San Francisco.

At the event, Han presented on glaucoma management strategies and outlined approaches for transitioning care between ophthalmologists and optometrists to best serve patients and monitor their glaucoma progression. The first approach of this management involved completely transferring the care of stable glaucoma patients to optometrists, with the optometrists referring patients back to the ophthalmologist if any active issues arose. The second approach was an alternating care model, where ophthalmologists and optometrists would share the management of patients who were not fully stabilized, with the ophthalmologist taking over if the patient's condition worsened to a point of surgical intervention or presented acute symptoms or vision loss.

Han also highlighted the need for improved glaucoma diagnosis, noting the significant number of "glaucoma suspect" patients whose precise diagnosis remained uncertain. She suggested that more precise diagnosis at the molecular level could lead to more effective treatment strategies. Additionally, Han expressed a desire for the future developments of a glaucoma surgery with a success rate comparable to the highly successful phacoemulsification procedure used for cataract surgery. She feels this would be an important step forward in providing care to patients with glaucoma.