5 Ways to Get to and From Your Wet AMD Eye Appointments

Starting a treatment regimen for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can be a big commitment. You may need to visit your eye doctor every eight weeks or more for close monitoring to receive anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) eye injections.

Making it to your appointments may be difficult if you live far from a clinic or doctor’s office — or have to rely on a family member or close friend to drive you. Research shows that people who live a long distance from their eye doctor’s office or treatment clinic usually receive fewer injections a year than people who live close by.

“Patients are not getting the number of treatments they need, and as a result, they’re losing vision,” says Frank Brodie, MD, an ophthalmologist and vitreoretinal surgeon at University of California San Francisco Health and coauthor of the study.

Dr. Brodie’s research found that people receive 3.5 fewer eye injections for every 100 miles they live from a clinic. “I have patients who travel upwards of 300 miles to our clinic, and it’s a massive undertaking to get here,” he says. “The burden is tremendous.”

Compared with dry AMD, which doesn’t require exams as frequently, wet AMD tends to progress faster and can lead to more rapid vision loss. That’s why it’s important to get the drug into the eye when it’s needed, Brodie notes.

Anti-VEGF injections are most effective when they’re given regularly and on time, says Christina Weng, MD, a professor in the department of ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and a member of the American Society of Retina Specialists.

Her research found that people who lived farther away tended to receive their injections late, with about 1 in 4 people experiencing a one-week delay in treatment. Sometimes, they were delayed by a month, which affected visual gains.

There was a bright spot with Brodie’s study. His research found that if a person had supplemental travel assistance — from, say, their insurance company — they were just as likely to stick to their injection schedule as people who lived close to a clinic.

That’s why, when it comes to transportation, it’s important to know your options when you or a loved one needs help making it to an appointment. Here are five services to explore in your area:

1. Veterans Transportation Services (VTS)

Operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the VTS provides veterans with free van transportation services to and from VA medical centers. Go to vetride.va.gov (or download the VetRide app on Google Play or the App Store) to create an account and schedule a ride.

2. Rideshares

You can arrange a ride through companies such as Uber and Lyft. There are a variety of ways to access these services:

• Download the Uber or Lyft app onto your phone from Google Play or the App Store, and schedule a ride from there.
• No smartphone? You can still use Uber. Go to m.uber.com to set up an account and arrange a ride.
• Call 833-USE-UBER (833-873-8237) to arrange a ride from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET. (You’ll have to use a phone that accepts text messages.)
• Ask your clinic or hospital if they use Lyft Healthcare or Uber for Business, where organizations can arrange (and may even pay for) rides to appointments. Lyft specifically offers Lyft Assisted, which provides door-to-door light assistance from the driver to help you get to and from the car.
• Call GoGoGrandparent at 855-464-6872, a service that can connect you to rides with Uber and Lyft on demand or prearrange rides. If you need a wheelchair or walker, let the operator know in advance.

3. Your Insurance Company

Some insurance plans provide transportation benefits, such as reimbursement for transportation to and from doctor’s offices for appointments. Your best bet is to call your member services line to check if this is available to you. In addition, some Medicare Advantage Plans will cover the cost of transportation to healthcare facilities.

4. State Benefits

To see what your state offers, do an online search for your state + transportation benefits. In some areas, you can sign up for healthcare transportation services. For example, the Illinois Department on Aging offers fixed-income seniors free public transit. And Texas Health and Human Services offers a free Medical Transportation Program for nonemergency medical transportation (such as a ride to a doctor’s office). It may be via public transportation, a taxi/van service, or commercial transit if you need to travel to another city.

5. Eldercare Locator

Eldercare Locator (reachable by calling 800-677-1116) is a public service from the Administration on Aging that can connect you to transportation options in your area.

Talk to Your Healthcare Provider

You’re not on your own. “As a retinal specialist, I see myself as a partner in treating my patients’ issues,” says Dr. Weng. “I encourage patients to openly share the challenges that can impede their care, whether that’s transportation or otherwise.”

Your doctor may be able to recommend transportation options; connect you with a social worker at the hospital who can discuss available programs; or suggest shifting treatment strategies, such as using longer-acting drugs that can increase the time between appointments.

“We want to work with you to have the best care, so you can achieve the best vision possible,” she says.