Purpose: To quantify the economic costs of vision loss in Australia and assess the impact of a costed intervention package to prevent avoidable vision loss.
Design: Existing Australian population-based data on prevalence and causes of visual impairment were used, and costs were calculated from published data for the five main causes of visual impairment.
Methods: The cost of vision loss in Australia was determined from the weighted prevalence of visual impairment; unpublished data on the indirect costs of vision; and national databases on health care costs and other economic data. A costed intervention package was developed and its economic impact modeled. Outcome measures were total costs and savings from the interventions.
Results: The intervention package would cost AU$188.8 million to implement in its first year but would bring a net return of AU$163.1 million in direct costs in the first year and an overall savings to the country of AU$911.1 million, a 4.8-fold return on investment.
Conclusions: Three-quarters of vision loss is avoidable, and many eye care interventions are cost effective. Even a developed economy cannot afford avoidable vision loss. Priority needs to be given to the prevention and treatment of avoidable vision loss.