Patient Motivations For Cataract And Refractive Surgery

To assess patient motivations and suitability for cataract and refractive surgery through a virtual consultation pathway.

Optegra Eye Health Care

We constructed a data pipeline using a de-identified dataset of patient records. Motivation statements were extracted from 17,000 free-text clinical notes via regular expression heuristics. Results were linked with the original records, quantified, and visualised to reveal the distribution of patient motivations for surgery.

Motivations for refractive/cataract surgery (n=16,600) were predominantly lifestyle driven. Freedom from optical appliances was the primary motivation (73.1%), followed by medical/clinical (32.1%) and vision (30.3%). Secondary motivations included frustration with spectacles (12.5%) and social influence (8.1%). Professional demands (3.3%), sports/physical activity (3.6%), and cost (0.5%) were less less commonly cited. Among patients seeking freedom from contact lenses (n=5,076), reported drivers included inadequate visual acuity with multifocal/monovision or toric prescriptions (8.6%), lens-induced dry eye (8.0%), intolerance (2.6%), handling difficulties (2.6%) and prior adverse events including microbial keratitis and neovascularisation.

This study demonstrates patient-driven lifestyle preferences, particularly desire for appliance independence, are the predominant motivators for refractive surgery. Quality-of-life considerations significantly influence surgical uptake. Among contact lens wearers, comfort-related issues and safety concerns contribute to the decision for surgery. These findings underscore the importance of patient-centred consultations that address clinical and lifestyle expectations within digital care pathways, ensuring informed decision-making and optimised postoperative satisfaction. Further analysis of patient demographics, correlation between motivations and final surgical outcomes, and long-term satisfaction metrics will be performed in due course.