21 May 2025
This year’s Myopia Awareness Week (May 19–25) has the theme ‘Screens down, eyes up.’
The annual campaign focuses on lifestyle habits that children and young people can adopt to help delay the onset of myopia and reduce progression.
To mark the week, OT spoke to optometrists about key issues in myopia management. Below, practitioners share their insight on navigating cost considerations in practice.
Avoiding assumptions
Optometrist and practice director of Peter Ivins Eye Care, Craig McArthur, highlighted the importance of not assuming what a family can afford – or how they prioritise their finances.
“My job is to guide the parents through the process and educate them so they can make an informed decision about their child’s myopia care. An important aspect of this is to explain the value of what you are offering before discussing the price,” he highlighted.
He observed that it is his role as a professional to make a recommendation on the most suitable myopia management strategy based on his experience and expertise.
“As a business we offer all of themyopiamanagement strategies via a monthly payment plan in an attempt to reduce the financial barriers and upfront cost to families,” he said.
Sarah Douglas, an optometrist at Lynne Fernandes Optometrists, shared that her practice offers flexible payment plans to make ongoing myopia management care more accessible.
“We offer a full range of evidence-based myopia management treatments, tailored to the needs and risk profile of each patient,” she said.
Douglas highlighted that a strong degree of mutual trust between practitioner and patient has resulted in most myopic children and their families going ahead with a myopia management plan pathway.
“Our patients and families are supported with clear guidance on the benefits of each treatment and the importance of regular monitoring for optimal outcomes,” she highlighted.
Open and honest communication
Optometrist and clinical director at Tompkins Knight and Son Optometrists, Dr Keyur Patel, reinforced the importance of having “open and honest” conversations about cost when it comes to myopia management.
Patel will explain to patients and their families that there is currently no government assistance for myopia management, so it needs to be self-funded.
The practice charges a single monthly fee, which covers all services and products, regardless of the chosen form of myopia management.
“We have tried to simplify our offering by creating a myopia management plan,” Patel shared.
Optometrist and managing director of Cameron Optometry, Ian Cameron, highlighted that the main aim of staff at his practice is to help families to see the value and long-term benefits of proactive myopia management.
He added that there are cost-free steps that families can take to reduce myopia risk.
“The great thing about lifestyle measures is that they are free to all and they work, so we always stress the importance of this at as early stage as possible,” he said.
Cameron explains to families that interventions, such as contact lenses and myopia control spectacles, can reduce the risk that a child will develop high myopia – and the associated ocular complications later in life.
He highlighted that the practice prioritises regular monitoring to assess how a treatment is working – as it can be difficult to judge at the outset what will work best for an individual patient.
This helps to ensure that a family is not spending money on a treatment that is not helping, Cameron said.
“Ultimately, the aim is to empower families to make informed decisions that balance the clinical need, lifestyle factors and financial feasibility,” he emphasised.
Myopia management funding
Independent prescribing optometrists, Neil Hilton and Dr Keyur Patel, consider the potential of central funding for children at risk of myopia
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