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Vitamin cocktail urged to battle cataractsCreated:01/18/2007A cocktail of vitamin supplements that delay the development of cataracts could save the Canadian health-care system as much as $1.5 billion, a health sciences professor at the University of Western Ontario says.The antioxidant vitamins were found in an earlier study to slow the progression of cataracts by half, reducing the need for surgery, said John Trevithick. Using Ontario health-system data and looking at what would happen if the 788,000 people in Ontario aged 50 to 55 used the vitamins as they aged, he found that would translate into a $37-million saving. At present, almost one per cent of all hospital and doctor costs billed through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan is for cataract surgery, he said. Applied to the population across Canada, the savings would amount to $1.5 billion, Trevithick has calculated. He is advocating the vitamins be added to the Ontario Drug Benefits Plan so that optometrists can prescribe them and the government will pay for them when someone is found to have cataracts. The annual cost of the vitamins would be about $150 a person. "By spending money, you would actually save money," he said. The move would also reduce the wait times for cataract surgery and free up operating rooms for other types of surgery. Across Canada, it would add up to 20 operating rooms, Trevithick has estimated. By JOHN MINER, FREE PRESS HEALTH REPORTER |