Optometry Australia (OA)  is ramping up its advocacy campaign ahead of this year’s federal election, while at the same time rolling out a consumer awareness campaign focussing on myopia.

The myopia public awareness campaign, launched at Parliament House in Canberra late last year, uses the tagline ‘Off Screens, Outside, Optometrist’.

OA is seeking federal government funding to partner in the delivery of the campaign in 2025, and is also seeking political commitment to reinstate Medicare-subsidised eye exams every two years – not just for children – but for all Australians under age 65.

Co-founder and Director of Myopia Profile, Dr Kate Gifford, said by 2050, more than half of Australia will be myopic.

Distilling extensive research, she said it is apparent that myopia is caused by “too much screen time… not enough green time” and to a lesser extent, familial history.

Presenting the creative for the myopia campaign at the Canberra launch, OA’s Chief Clinical Officer Luke Arundel stressed the need to educate the broader community about myopia, saying “roughly a third of the country” have never heard of it.

“Another third has heard the name, but don’t know anything about the symptoms. Two-thirds of the country are not aware of the fact that shortsightedness may cause an increased risk of blindness. And again, two-thirds have no idea about the fact that we can slow down the progression of myopia with new treatments,” Mr Arundel said.

OA’s tagline – ‘Off Screens, Outside, Optometrist’ – is a reminder for children to get off screens, spend time outside, and visit an optometrist, he explained.

While brand agnostic, the campaign is sponsored by industry partners including HOYA, Specsavers, ProVision, CooperVision, Rodenstock, ZEISS, and Aspen PharmaCare with more organisations expected to come on board.

The launch of the myopia campaign was an opportunity for Optometry Australia to call on the federal government to reinstate Medicarefunded eye screens for children every two years.

Dr Gifford said the current Medicare funded eye screening interval is not appropriate for children, because “every three years is not enough”; a lot can change in those years.

The two-year screening interval is a prime focus of OA’s pre-election political advocacy.

OA CEO Skye Cappuccio said not enough asymptomatic Australians aged under 65 are having comprehensive eye examinations once every three years, let alone every two years as clinically recommended.

“We know that these patients may have, or be at risk of, ocular conditions that do not currently affect their sight, but which can result in vision impairment or vision loss if not identified fast enough to be managed effectively,” she said.

EYE EXAM DROP OFF

Ms Cappuccio said analysis of Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Item 10910 has shown:

• Per capita initial comprehensive eye examinations nationally for people aged under 65 years fell by 18.1% between 2017–18 and 2023–24.

• The number of Australians aged under 65 getting Medicare subsidised initial comprehensive eye examinations fell by 12.4% between 2017–18 and 2023–24.

• Critically, if the 2017–18 per capita rate for under 65s was maintained, there would have been 2,461,284 initial comprehensive eye examinations (an additional 424,101 eye examinations)* in 2023–24.

OA explained that the per capita drop off between 2017–18 and 2023–24 was in all states and territories and impacted all age groups under 65. Women had a higher per capita drop off compared to men.

“We believe there are multiple reasons for this disturbing drop off,” OA said, citing cost-of-living issues and the COVID pandemic.

“However, in all states and territories, per capita initial comprehensive eye examinations were lower in 2023–24 than in 2020–21 (during COVID),” Ms Cappuccio said.

“We recognise that optometrists may be making greater use of other MBS items for progressing eye conditions (particularly in older patient cohorts). However, analysis shows a reduction in per capita usage of all comprehensive eye exams since the introduction of item 10910, compared to expected projections.

“Asymptomatic Australians are not accessing the regular eye care they need.”

She said this was highly concerning, given projections showed the “greatest increase in the absolute number of Australians with vision loss is expected between 2020 and 2030”.

CALL FOR REINSTATEMENT

Ms Cappuccio said OA will lobby both the Federal Minister for Health, Mark Butler, and the Shadow Minister for Health, Senator Anne Ruston for change.

“The message is simple: Australia cannot afford to wait – we must have Eyes on Medicare. Medicare must support accessible, timely eye care for all and the next federal government must reinstate Medicare-subsidised eye exams every two years for Australians under 65,” Ms Cappuccio said.

* The overall population increased by 10.2% from 24.6 million in June 2017 to 27.1 million in March 2024. Approx 84% of the Australian population is under 65 years.