Eye drop administration: improving patients’ skills to make the procedure easier and reduce side-effects – a Rotterdam Eye Hospital project

The consequences of incorrect administration of eye drops can be severe, and more patients experience these than is necessary. The Rotterdam Eye Hospital has developed written and illustrated instructions on how to administer eye drops and eye ointment for patients and caregivers. We started with instructing glaucoma patients. To investigate the quality of our instructions, we evaluated the skills of eye drop administration before, immediately after and one month after patients had received instructions in eye drop administration. Patients’ skills in administrating eye drops improved significantly after receiving instructions. Patients were very satisfied with the instructions. Applying eye drops correctly was found to be a bigger issue than had been originally assumed. The next step at the Rotterdam Eye hospital was the launch of the Eye Pharmacy, which provides eye drops and instructions for their administration. This article discusses: the techniques for administering eye drops and eye ointment; how best to instruct patients; and solutions to specific problems. The article can be used as a guideline so that eye healthcare professionals can better help their patients.