Data on Managed Care Detailed by Researchers at Harvard Medical School (Geographic Access to Retinal Care in the United States): Managed Care

2026 AUG 11 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Current study results on Managed Care have been published. According to news reporting from Boston, Massachusetts, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “To assess the geographic coverage of U.S. medical and surgical retina specialists and identify community-level sociodemographic factors associated with reduced access. For this population-based, cross-sectional study, fellowship-trained retina specialists were identified using professional society membership databases, private practice websites, academic department profiles, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data.”

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Harvard Medical School, “Practice addresses were geocoded, and 15-, 30-, and 60-min drive-time service areas were generated. U.S. Census tracts enriched with 2019-2023 American Community Survey sociodemographic data were overlaid, with tract proximity defined by the shortest service area capturing the tract centroid. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify tract-level sociodemographic characteristics associated with inadequate access to care (i.e., >60-min). Odds ratios (ORs) were scaled per 10-percentage point increase in each predictor. Approximately 5.0% of U.S. residents lived >60-min from the nearest retina specialist. After adjusting for urbanicity, higher odds of inadequate access were observed amongst tracts with higher proportions of Medicare-aged residents (OR 1.61 [95% confidence interval, 1.58-1.64]) and greater racial homogeneity (1.15 [1.14-1.16]). Higher proportions of college-educated residents were associated with reduced odds of inadequate access (0.89 [0.88-0.90]). Weaker associations were observed between inadequate access and higher proportions of uninsured (1.05 [1.02-1.08]) and Hispanic/Latino residents (1.08 [1.07-1.09]). No association was observed for proportion very low-income residents (1.00 [0.99-1.02]). Approximately 1 in 20 U.S. residents lived >60-min from a retina specialist, with several sociodemographic characteristics associated with reduced access.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “These findings highlight specific communities that may benefit most from targeted interventions.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Geographic Access to Retinal Care in the United States. Retina, 2026. Retina can be contacted at: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Two Commerce Sq, 2001 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA. (Lippincott Williams and Wilkins - www.lww.com; Retina - http://journals.lww.com/retinajournal/pages/default.aspx)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Owais Fazal, Dept. of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Additional authors for this research include Jovany J. Franco, Warren W. Pan, Thomas J. Wubben and Mark W. Johnson.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1097/iae.0000000000004929. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the journal Retina is: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Two Commerce Sq, 2001 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA.

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