Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a serious retinal disease. It is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in older adults that cannot be reversed. The macula is the part of the eye’s retina that enables sharp, central vision needed for close work, such as reading and writing, for driving and for recognizing faces.
An estimated 6.5 percent of people have age-related macular degeneration. At a particular stage, called neovascular, age-related macular degeneration increases from 0.04 percent in 50-year-olds, to 2.79 percent in 80-year-olds, to 10.49 percent in 90-year-olds. In Ontario, physicians who specialize in eye diseases use optical coherence tomography (OCT) regularly to find out whether patients have age-related macular degeneration.
Health Quality Ontario Reviews Optical Coherence Tomography
Optical coherence tomography is a light-based imaging technique that lets physicians see the retina and evaluate how the disease changes or responds to treatment over time. Optical coherence tomography has been key to monitoring age-related macular degeneration and other retinal disorders. It is fast and gives clear pictures of the macula, even when eye is moving. Optical coherence tomography also gives information about blood vessels forming in the eye and on how thick the whole retina has grown.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has accepted this recommendation.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has provided the following response: This procedure is now an insured service.