The cost-effectiveness of screening strategies for amblyopia: a preliminary report.

Five screening strategies for amblyopia in different age groups were compared according to a decision-analytical model from the perspective of the health insurance funds. Our findings indicate that the costs per detected case of amblyopia range from about 1200 DM to 3000 DM (613 Euro to 1534 Euro). The two most cost-effective screening strategies were to screen high-risk children up to the age of one by ophthalmologists and to screen all children up to the age of one by ophthalmologists. The screening of high-risk children identifies only about a third of all affected children in this age group, when compared with the number of cases detected by screening all children up to the age of one. However, the average cost per detected case of amblyopia among high-risk children is lower than the cost of screening all children in this age range.