This was a survey-based study to address unanswered questions relating to economic and workforce issues in paediatric ophthalmology. The survey comprised 12 questions with yes / no or multiple-choice responses and was circulated to American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) members. The response rate was 17.4%; 287 responses. Paediatric ophthalmology was believed by paediatric ophthalmologists to be a prestigious specialty. A hybrid fellowship of paediatric ophthalmology and adult cataract surgery was considered by 47.7% to increase the numbers attracted to the subspeciality. Early exposure of the profession to medical students was favoured by 65.9% and 28.2% believed that AAPOS lobbyists could be successful in preventing future Medicaid cuts. A wait of 1-2 months for non-emergency surgery was reported by 47%, 50.9% had a wait time of >2 months for new appointments and 46.7% with similar wait times for follow-up. On breakdown, differences in wait times were noted for academic vs private practice. This study noted that all suggestions to improve the attraction to paediatric ophthalmology face challenges practically and require long-term review. There is a US relevance with regard to Medicaid reimbursement but there may be relevance to other countries where there is also reliance on insurance payments.
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Attracting workforce to paediatric ophthalmology
Reviewed by Fiona Rowe
CONTRIBUTOR
Fiona Rowe (Prof)
Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, UK.
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