The sight test fee Need for more cautious analysis

BMJ 1994;309:1370 (19 November)

Letters

The sight test fee Need for more cautious analysis

EDITOR, - D A H Laidlaw and colleagues describe the effect ofthe introduction of the sight test fee on the number of referralsto Bristol Eye Hospital.¹ They use the numbers of referralsfor 1984-8 to predict the expected numbers of referrals in 1989-92.This use of their data would have been appropriate if the introductionof the fee on 1 April 1989 had been made without prior warning.The government's proposal for the sight test fee had, however,been made public on 25 November 1987.² This announcement (andsubsequent confirmations) would be expected to have had twoeffects. Firstly, the high figure for referrals in 1988 maypartly simply be due to the increased general publicity aboutsight tests. Secondly, some people who would have had an eyetest after 1 April 1989 may have decided to have one beforehandinstead. These "early" sight tests would have increased . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

The sight test fee: effect on ophthalmology referrals and rate of glaucoma detection: D A H Laidlaw, P A Bloom, A O Hughes, J M Sparrow, and V J Marmion
BMJ 1994 309: 634-636. [Abstract] [Full Text]