Screening for diabetic retinopathy

Adequate programme would save money EDITOR,--Bob Ryder's editorial on screening for diabetic retinopathy notes the potential cost of litigation if those at risk are not screened adequately but fails to mention the more certain savings that may result from a comprehensive screening service. 1 Even when non-insulin dependent diabetes alone was considered an American computer model that compared the efficacy of treating macular oedema and neovascularisation with the federal costs of blindness calculated savings of $247.9m (pounds sterling165.3m) and 53986 person years of sight. 2 These figures assumed only a (current) 60% uptake of services.