The partnership addresses a major gap in providing resources for patients with vision impairment or blindness, including a new focus on mental health care delivery
Lumata Health, a technology-driven healthcare startup on a mission to prevent vision loss from chronic eye diseases through its human-led, intelligent eye care management platform for patients in the U.S., announces its partnership with Prevent Blindness. The two organizations will be collaborating on various initiatives to address barriers to care for patients, with a strong focus on mental health resources to start.
“Our care coordinators are in frequent contact with patients experiencing vision loss, where they coordinate transportation, provide educational resources, and assist with refilling medications. When it comes to supporting mental health needs as patients lose their eyesight and often increasingly isolate themselves or lose elements of their daily routine, providing impactful resources is not one-size-fits-all,” said Landon Grace, CEO and Co-Founder at Lumata Health. “Through our aligned missions to prevent blindness and preserve vision, we will collaborate on numerous initiatives to address gaps in health care delivery, not least of which is providing mental health resources to individuals with chronic eye diseases.”
More than seven million Americans have vision impairment, including one million who are blind. Of this seven million, the CDC reports one in four adults with vision loss experienced anxiety or depression and younger adults with vision loss have almost five times the risk of serious anxiety or depression. And these numbers could rise, as another 93 million U.S. adults are at risk for severe vision loss.
To kick off the partnership, Lumata Health and Prevent Blindness are collaborating on a training program for Lumata’s certified eye care coordinators, focusing on capacity building around mental health resources and support for individuals experiencing vision loss and blindness. Lumata’s care coordinators work directly with the patients to ensure adherence to their doctor’s care plan through ongoing education and addressing barriers to care.
Prevent Blindness was founded more than one hundred years ago. Together, the national office and six state affiliates advocate and engage millions of people each year to promote eye health and vision preservation through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and patient service programs, and research.
Prevent Blindness was first introduced to Lumata when one of their care coordinators participated in the Prevent Blindness ASPECT program, an advocacy training program for individuals who are visually impaired and their allies. “We immediately saw parallels in our missions and upon learning more, were impressed by their wrap-around service model to tackle key barriers to care for patients at risk of losing their vision,” said Jeff Todd, President and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “There was immediate enthusiasm to move the needle to effectively drive change addressing mental health for patients experiencing vision loss. We’re excited to roll out this first training program and continue to expand resources from there.”
Lumata Health currently serves thousands of patients suffering from vision-threatening chronic eye conditions through partnerships with ophthalmology clinics and health systems. Data shows patients supported by Lumata Health’s intelligent eye care management platform, which incorporates clinical and psychosocial elements to empower patients to manage their chronic condition throughout their care journey, miss an average of 30% fewer appointments.
This partnership will help allow Lumata’s team of care coordinators to connect with various resources in any given geographical area to support low vision patients. The first training program will take place in the spring of 2023.
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Download a copy of the Lumata Health, Prevent Blindness media release
