Review and classification of economic evaluations in primary eye care

This review will examine in detail the literature available on economic evaluation of primary eye care services. Primary care has been defined by the World Health Organization as “… a key process in the health system. It is first-contact, accessible, continued, comprehensive and coordinated care”. Eye care services that fit these criteria in countries classified as middle/high income will be considered.
An economic evaluation is defined as “The comparative analysis of alternative courses of action in terms of both their costs and consequences” (Drummond et al 2005). This broad definition will be used here.
It is likely that there is some variation in training, scope of practice, and service provision of primary eye care between different countries and health care systems. However, the general aim of identifying, referring, or managing patients with suspected eye disease appears to be a common factor.
To date, there appears to be a lack of studies examining the clinical and economic effectiveness of primary eye care services. This review aims to identify, analyse, and summarize the available evidence and to assess the most frequently used methods of economic evaluation and the quality of such evidence in the context of primary eye care.