Ultralase exceeds government guidelines
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence reports on the safety of laser eye surgery and sets out guidelines that providers must adhere to.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the independent organisation that works on behalf of the Government and is responsible for providing national guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health.
NICE was tasked with assessing the effectiveness and safety of laser eye surgery and their findings were released at the end of March 2006. After detailed study and consultation with ophthalmic specialists, the official conclusion is that laser eye surgery is "safe and efficacious".
However, there are strict guidelines that must be adhered to if laser eye surgery providers are to satisfy necessary requirements:
There are those who exemplify the best practice, which I feel needs to be rolled out across the sector. Ultralase operates to standards which appear to be more severe than those required at the statutory level at present.
Dr Ashok Kumar MP, speaking in the House of Commons.
Laser eye surgery providers should ensure that patients understand the benefits as well as the potential risks of the procedure.
- In 2004, Ultralase had already been cited in the House of Commons as 'exemplifying best practice'.
Clinics should audit and review the clinical outcomes for all patients.
- Ultralase has been recording its results for many years and is the only UK clinic network to have these results independently verified.
N.I.C.E. states that clinicians must have had adequate training before being allowed to perform treatment.
- Ultralase only employs fully qualified ophthalmic surgeons who have undergone our rigorous training programme. Furthermore, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists has issued a number of compulsory standards, and Ultralase complies with every one of them.
In producing its report, NICE has looked at numerous peer-reviewed articles to obtain expected quality of outcome and results. Ultralase's own independently verified data compares extremely favourably with the industry data:
Furthermore, NICE concludes that the risk of infection after treatment is minimal, similar to or lower than that reported for contact lens wearers!
According to NICE, 77% of patients can expect an outcome within 0.5D (dioptres) of target. 94% of Ultralase patients achieve this target.
91% of patients in the N.I.C.E. data achieve an outcome within 1.0D of target, whereas the Ultralase figure is 99%
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