This website was commissioned and funded by Santen.
The Future of Glaucoma
A clear vision for a better tomorrow: The Future of Glaucoma can be brighter
A clear look at a better future for glaucoma care.
This article was commissioned and funded by Santen.
Tell me, eyes, what ‘tis ye’re seeking.”
April, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
What do glaucoma patients want from their care? How can we best treat and manage the condition? What are the enablers of better care? These are the questions explored in The Future of Glaucoma.
A journey to the future
Santen is a company dedicated to eye health and has been focused on ophthalmology for over 130 years.4 We wanted to explore the future of glaucoma care through the eyes of glaucoma experts, so we conducted a series of interviews exploring likely trends and what glaucoma care could look like in the future. The idea was to highlight these future trends and topics through a series of short articles.
However, as the interviews progressed, we realised that future trends were only part of the story. Describing new technologies like artificial intelligence or examining potential future treatment approaches was not enough to describe the future of glaucoma care. It was also important to understand what a better future might look like, so we brought the health professionals and advocacy leaders we’d been speaking to back together and challenged them to agree some key ambitions for the future care of glaucoma.
As a patient-centric company, we wanted to make sure we went further to understand the priorities and ambitions for patients in a better future. Encouraged by our expert group, we commissioned independent research into the views of patients in 2024. Patients were asked to reflect on their journeys, what could be improved, and what glaucoma care should look like in the future.
We were able to compare the perspectives of healthcare professionals and the priorities of people living with glaucoma, and their respective ambitions for the future of glaucoma care, before creating a series of articles describing five key enablers that could help to bring this vision to life.
The final step was to identify how to make this better future of glaucoma care a reality. We brought the health professional and advocacy leaders back together and asked them to agree on key catalysts for change at multiple levels, from local to regional and national.
Joining us on the journey
The Future of Glaucoma is intended to be read by anyone working in eye care services, and by anyone with an interest in glaucoma care. The articles are not exhaustive and are designed to offer a big-picture perspective. They explore some of the major enablers of better glaucoma care and how they can be used synergistically by the healthcare system.
All the articles were written by Michael Marshall, a freelance writer specialising in health, life sciences and the environment. They were edited by members of our glaucoma expert panel, each of whom had the responsibility for editing one article.
The Future of Glaucoma consists of seven articles. First, A unified vision for future glaucoma care. This outlines the ambitions of glaucoma specialists and glaucoma patients for care practices, and explains how they mesh together. Building on this foundation, it sketches a proposed future for glaucoma care.
Second, five articles describe the key enablers of this better future:
- Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used for targeted screening and tracking progression.
- Innovative treatments include the latest advances in drugs, delivery methods such as eye implants, and surgeries.
- Sustainable service delivery means reorganising glaucoma care to enable faster diagnosis and risk stratification.
- Health equity and access to care is crucial: often the people most at risk of glaucoma are those least able to access care.
- Patient engagement and education is vital for giving patients the means to make the best decisions for themselves.
Finally, Seeing our way to better glaucoma care. This concluding article outlines the catalysts for change, from local to national, that our experts believe will enable a better future for glaucoma care.
Glaucoma services without doubt face considerable and complex challenges and in an uncertain world it is impossible to accurately predict the future.5 However, in seizing the opportunities identified by glaucoma experts and keeping the needs and demands of people living with glaucoma front and centre, we can imagine a brighter and better Future of Glaucoma.
References
- Tham Y-C, Li X, Wong TY, et al. Global prevalence of glaucoma and projections of glaucoma burden through 2040: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ophthalmology. 2014;121(11):2081 – 2090. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2014.05.013
- Glaucoma UK. Primary glaucoma. Accessed September 2025. https://glaucoma.uk/about-glaucoma/what-is-glaucoma/primary-glaucoma/
- Weinreb RN, Aung T, Medeiros FA. The pathophysiology and treatment of glaucoma: a review. JAMA. 2014;311(18):1901–1911. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.3192
- Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Santen global website. Accessed September 2025. Available at: https://www.santen.com/en/about
- Harper RA, Gunn PJG, Spry PGD, et al. Transforming glaucoma care pathways: current glaucoma accreditation in UK optometry. Eye. 2022;36:676–678. doi: 10.1038/s41433-021-01820-7
Read The Articles Here
Article 1: Introduction
A clear look at a better future for glaucoma care. Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of vision loss and blindness. More than 3% of people over 40 have glaucoma, and perhaps 10% of over-75s.
Article 2: Setting the Scene
A shared vision of the future of glaucoma care. Glaucoma patients and healthcare professionals have different perspectives on glaucoma care, but they share many of the same priorities.
Article 3: Artificial Intellegence
AI could help the highest-risk patients get glaucoma care . While artificial intelligence has many possible uses in glaucoma, its greatest potential is in identifying those at greatest risk.
Article 4: Sustainable Service Delivery
Ensuring the right patient is seen by the right person at the right time. How can the healthcare system ensure that every glaucoma patient is seen, while also maintaining empathic health professional - patient relationships.
Article 5: Innovative Treatments
The new cornucopia of treatments for glaucoma. From new types of pharmaceuticals to novel surgical approaches, there are now many more treatments available for glaucoma.
Article 6: Health Equality
Ensuring access to glaucoma care is truly equitable. Poor people and members of ethnic minorities often receive worse glaucoma care. Fixing these inequities requires a tailored approach.
Article 7: Patient Education and Engagement
People with glaucoma need clarity about their condition. Patients with glaucoma who are educated about their diagnosis are more likely to actively engage in their care and often have better outcomes.
Article 8: Conclusions and Recommendations
What if we got it right? The Future of Glaucoma Care in the UK. Shaping the future of glaucoma care at every level will not only improve patients’ lives but deliver lasting benefits for society.
© Santen 2025. medicalaffairsuk@santen.com