Question

Daniel, age 72, comes to the pharmacy to refill his glaucoma eye drops. While chatting, he says, “My vision hasn’t changed in months, so I think the glaucoma is gone. I might stop using the drops after this bottle.” Which of the following is the most appropriate response?

“That’s a good idea; one less medication would alleviate your treatment burden.”

“The pharmacist can better explain why stopping your drops may cause vision loss.”

“That’s great to hear, but you should only reduce use to every other day instead.”

“You can only safely stop all your glaucoma medications once your vision improves.”

Unsure

Answer 1

“The pharmacist can better explain why stopping your drops may cause vision loss.”

Reason: this response does not encourage stopping or give unsafe dosing advice. Glaucoma is chronic and often asymptomatic; stopping meds can cause irreversible vision loss, so the patient needs education and contact with the prescriber. (Ideally the pharmacist would say this directly and counsel the patient now and recommend contacting the eye doctor.)