The Costs Associated with In Home Post-Operative Eyedrop Nursing Care in Belgium – Implications for a Switch to Dropless Cataract Surgery

Cataract surgery is among the most frequently performed procedures globally, with over 176,000 surgeries conducted in Belgium in 2024. Postoperative care traditionally involves daily administration of antibiotic, steroid, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory eye drops for four weeks, often requiring home nursing support due to poor patient compliance and technique. This conventional approach incurs significant costs for the Belgian healthcare system. A nationwide transition to dropless surgery would have reduced Belgium's 2024 healthcare expenditure from €4,016,573 to €1,816,020. For patients, out-of-pocket costs would drop from €176.93 to €1.62 per eye. Additional benefits include reduced hospital staff workload, decreased ocular surface toxicity, and lower environmental waste from discarded eye drop bottles. Provided clinical outcomes remain equivalent, adopting dropless cataract surgery in Belgium presents a compelling opportunity to enhance cost-efficiency, patient convenience, and sustainability.