Analysis of eye health in the Thai population.

OBJECTIVE

To assess national eye health as a baseline for improving medical education, services and research.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: Information on eye illness among out- and in-patients was based on hospital claims from the three national health insurance schemes in 2010. The data were analyzed by age groups.

RESULTS

In 2010, 4,982,025 out-patient visits and 187,080 in-patient admissions were reported. The five most common outpatient eye conditions were disorders of the (1) conjunctiva (H10-H13) (2) eyelid, lacrimal system and orbit (H00-H06) (3) lens (H25-28) (4) sclera, cornea, iris and ciliary body (H15-H22) and (5) glaucoma (H40-H42). The five most common inpatient eye diseases were (1) disorders of lens (H25-H28) (2) conjunctiva (H10-H13) (3) sclera, cornea, iris and ciliary body (H15-H22) (4) choroid and retina (H30-H35) and (5) glaucoma (H40-H42).

CONCLUSION

Information on the most frequent eye diseases-including the types and frequency of high risk conditions, the diseases causing the most impact on vision and resulting in the highest health expenditures-will be used to (a) revise the curricula for medical education (b) to improve eye care services and (c) to improve access to data for research themes tailored to local and national needs.