Much of ophthalmic treatment progresses not in the consultation room but in the patient's home. Glaucoma eye-drop therapy, eye drops after cataract surgery, eye drops for dry eye or allergic conjunctivitis—each is effective only when the patient keeps using the drops as prescribed. But because eye drops are a treatment left to patients themselves, it is not easy for physicians to know whether they are being used as prescribed. This article organizes why medication adherence (continued eye-drop use) tends to be a challenge in ophthalmology, and explains how a patient app can support continued eye drops and visits.
Why eye-drop adherence tends to be a challenge
Behind the difficulty of continuing eye-drop treatment in ophthalmology lie the following factors.
- Few subjective symptoms: Glaucoma has almost no subjective symptoms from the early to middle stages, so patients easily feel "nothing goes wrong if I skip the drops"
- Long-term treatment: Some diseases, such as glaucoma, require eye drops for life
- Many types and frequencies of drops: With prescriptions combining multiple eye drops used many times a day, forgetting and confusion are common
- Difficult technique: Elderly patients may have trouble getting drops into the eye or lack the strength to squeeze the bottle
- Fixed post-operative periods: After cataract surgery, the duration and frequency may change in stages for each drug, which easily confuses patients
Glaucoma in particular is a disease in which lost visual field does not return once it progresses. If drops are not continued and intraocular pressure control becomes inadequate, visual field damage may progress silently. Continued eye-drop use is a theme that determines the outcome of ophthalmic treatment itself.
Interrupted visits cannot be overlooked either
The adherence challenge is not only about eye drops. Breaks in regular visits are an equally important problem. In glaucoma, examinations such as intraocular pressure, visual field, and OCT are performed regularly, and the treatment plan is adjusted by following the course. If visits are interrupted, this follow-up itself breaks down.
The same applies after cataract surgery. Checkups at post-operative day 1, week 1, and month 1 are essential for early detection of complications and adjustment of eye drops. Small stumbles—forgetting the next visit date, not knowing how to book—lead to missed checkups.
Preventing treatment interruption in chronic disease is a challenge shared with other fields such as diabetes. See also How to Prevent Visit Interruption in Diabetes Outpatient Care.
What in-clinic guidance alone cannot reach
Many ophthalmology clinics provide eye-drop guidance at consultation or checkout. Conveying correct use—the order of drops, leaving an interval when using multiple drops, closing the eyelids and gently pressing the inner corner of the eye after instillation—is important.
However, in-clinic guidance ends "on the spot." Without a mechanism to remind patients at the moment of each daily dose after they return home, the effect of guidance fades over time. This is where a mechanism that reaches the patient's smartphone—a patient app—becomes useful. For the concept of patients managing their own health and medical information, see What Is a PHR?.
Supporting continued eye drops and visits with a patient app
When supporting continued eye-drop use with a patient app, the following functions are key.
- A list of eye drops: Patients can check at any time which drop goes in which eye, and how many times a day
- Reminders: Notifications at dosing times prevent forgetting
- Easy registration of prescriptions: Prescriptions are registered without the patient typing them in
- Next-visit guidance: Patients are notified of checkup and regular visit timing and can book directly
- Linkage with the clinic: App information is not separated from the chart and stays consistent with in-clinic prescriptions and bookings
The fifth point is often overlooked. With general-purpose medication apps, patients must enter prescriptions themselves, and prescription changes are not reflected. Only when the app is connected to the same data as the clinic's electronic chart do prescription changes and next bookings reach the patient correctly.
Linking AI Karte with the patient app "Potekkun"
The ophthalmology product of "AI Karte," developed by Pottech, provides the in-clinic electronic chart and the patient PHR app "Potekkun" together on the same data foundation. Because booking, questionnaires, prescriptions, and payments connect in real time, continued eye drops and visits can be supported from both the clinic side and the patient side. See the AI Karte Ophthalmology page for details.
- Medication management and OCR: Eye drops and prescribed drugs can be managed, with reminders set through AI auto-import. OCR-based history management is also supported
- Linked to eye-drop prescriptions: Eye-drop prescriptions issued in the clinic connect with medication reminders on the patient side
- LINE integration: LINE login, push notifications, and booking reminders let patients receive guidance in an app they already use
- AI next-visit recommendations: AI recommends the next visit, such as post-operative checkups, and patients can book with one tap from the booking guidance
- Booking, patient cards, and questionnaires: Clinic search, booking, and QR patient cards are completed on a smartphone, and questionnaires can be answered on the web before the visit
- Cataract clinical pathway: On the clinic side, examinations and procedures for surgery → post-operative day 1 → day 7 → month 1 are expanded automatically to manage the flow of post-operative checkups
Use of the app is free for patients and included in the clinic's AI Karte contract. Rather than introducing an electronic chart and a patient app separately and integrating them, running on the same foundation from the outset is a distinctive feature of AI Karte's ophthalmology product. For the overall picture of why AI Karte excels in ophthalmology, see Why AI Karte Suits Ophthalmology.
Points to consider at implementation
A patient app will not be used just because it is introduced. To increase its effect, consider operational measures such as the following.
- Have staff guide app registration at the first prescription or during the surgical explanation
- For elderly patients, mention registration on a family member's smartphone as an option
- Keep conventional means, such as paper eye-drop charts, for patients who do not use the app
- Reminders are only an aid; continue explaining eye-drop technique and importance during consultations
In closing
Eye-drop treatment has meaning only when it is continued daily in the patient's home. By adding a mechanism that reaches patients' smartphones to in-clinic guidance, continued eye drops and visits can be supported day to day. And that mechanism being connected to the same data as the electronic chart is the condition for reliably delivering prescription changes and post-operative checkups to patients.
Through the provision of AI Karte, Pottech serves as the optimal business partner for clinics—supporting not only better working conditions for physicians, nurses, and medical clerical staff, but also helping clinics achieve to the fullest what they want to accomplish.
For details, please do not hesitate to contact us.