A volunteer program is helping to offset the cost of glaucoma surgery for underserved patients across the United States. The initiative, AGS Cares, connects eligible individuals with a national network of volunteer glaucoma surgeons willing to provide surgical care that might otherwise be financially out of reach.
Figure 1. “None of this would be possible without our network of volunteers, many of whom are in this room, and we thank you,” Adam L. Rothman, MD, told the audience at the AGS annual meeting on Thursday morning.
“AGS Cares is a volunteer program supported by the American Glaucoma Society Foundation and its partners to provide glaucoma surgery services for uninsured and underinsured patients,” explained Adam L. Rothman, MD, a glaucoma specialist and assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, during the American Glaucoma Society’s annual meeting in Rancho Mirage, California, Thursday. “The program is designed to connect patients in need with our network of volunteer surgeons.”
Under the program, AGS Cares provides up to $1,500 per eye toward surgical costs, which may include facility fees, anesthesia, and equipment. Each patient may receive support for surgery in each eye, allowing for as many as 2 procedures per patient.
The program currently includes more than 400 volunteer surgeons in United States (Figure 1). “These surgeons have collectively performed nearly 300 surgeries,” said Dr. Rothman, crediting AGS members for sustaining the effort.
Figure 2. The process is simple. Physicians can visit the AGS Cares website to search by location and identify participating surgeons for patient referral or enroll as volunteers.
Referral and enrollment are designed to be straightforward (Figure 2). Physicians can visit the AGS Cares website, verify their location, identify a participating surgeon, and submit a referral. “If you have a patient in need, the process is simple,” Dr. Rothman said. “Or, better yet, consider volunteering as a member of our network yourself. If you don’t participate yourself but have a patient in need, please keep us in mind and refer them.” GP