Glaucoma sufferers to get better treatment access

Glaucoma sufferers will have better access to more fully funded treatments from April 1, government drug-buying agency Pharmac said today.

Glaucoma is an eye condition that can lead to blindness.

A new combination eye drop treatment would be fully subsidised, as would two existing eye drops, and some existing treatments would be more widely available.

"These moves give more choice for prescribers and patients suffering from glaucoma, list a new combination product and give greater access to treatments that are already listed," Pharmac medical director Peter Moodie said in a statement.

- NZPA