COVID-19 Launches Retinal Telemedicine into the Next Frontier

Raparia, Eva; Husain, Deeba

doi:10.1080/08820538.2021.1893352

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“… 12 In a survey 13 of Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield’s billing data, cornea and external diseases accounted for 48.0% of all telemedicine visits, with retinal and glaucoma conditions accounting for only 16.8% and 13.4%, respectively. Other virtual-only ophthalmic telemedicine data 4 , 14 , 15 have suggested a preference for oculoplastic, strabismus, neuro-ophthalmologic, and external surface diseases. The particular reliance on the evaluation of intraocular structures in glaucoma and retinal diseases, which cannot be captured during a telephone or video-based visit, and advances in both nonmydriatic ultrawidefield fundus photography and optical coherence tomography may explain why clinicians prefer to use hybrid visits for glaucoma and retinal diseases and reserve virtual-only visits for oculoplastics, strabismus, neuro-ophthalmic, and cornea and external diseases.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 1 , 2 In ophthalmology, telemedicine use has traditionally focused on a store-and-forward model for diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, macular degeneration, and glaucoma to bridge a lack of access due to distance or workforce limitations. 3 , 4 These asynchronous telemedicine models involve acquiring images of the retina or optic nerve through a secure platform that sends the data to a remote eye care professional. Later, the eye care professional interprets the data and returns a management recommendation to the patient or image acquisition site.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, we are unaware of large-scale studies that have evaluated the outcomes of the hybrid ophthalmology telemedicine model despite multiple studies 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 describing the model for eye care. Although the concept of a visit model that can emulate standard in-person visits for eye care with reduced physical contact sounds appealing, particularly during a global pandemic, the ability to deliver quality patient care cannot be sacrificed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, we are unaware of large-scale studies that have evaluated the outcomes of the hybrid ophthalmology telemedicine model despite multiple studies [4][5][6][7][8][9][10] describing the model for eye care.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Outcomes of a Hybrid Ophthalmology Telemedicine Model for Outpatient Eye Care During COVID-19

et al. 2022

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ImportanceThe hybrid ophthalmology telemedicine model asynchronously pairs an imaging appointment by a technician with a subsequent virtual appointment by a clinician. Although it has been mentioned in several studies as an alternative to standard in-person care during the COVID-19 pandemic, outcomes of this alternative clinical care model remain to be evaluated.ObjectiveTo investigate the outcomes associated with the hybrid ophthalmology telemedicine model during the COVID-19 pandemic for nonurgent and nonprocedural ophthalmological care.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsRetrospective, cross-sectional study of all hybrid visits scheduled during the year 2020 in a single academic, hospital-based eye clinic in Boston, Massachusetts. All hybrid ophthalmology telemedicine visits completed in the year 2020 by opthalmologists and optometrists were included. Data were analyzed from January to December 2020.ExposuresHybrid telemedicine clinical encounters.Main Outcomes and MeasuresFour outcome metrics were calculated: (1) need for subsequent procedure visit, (2) medication change, (3) nonurgent, and (4) urgent consultation with another eye clinician. Adverse outcomes were defined as irreversible vision loss and the need for additional in-person evaluation to reach a management decision.ResultsFrom April 9 to December 30, 2020, 889 patients (506 female patients [56.9%]; mean [SD] age, 62.1 [14.5] years; age range, 13-98 years) completed 940 hybrid visits. The most common visit indications were glaucoma (424 visits [45.1%]) and retinal diseases (499 visits [53.1%]). A total of 25 visits (2.7%) led to a procedure, 22 visits (2.3%) led to a change in medication, and 44 visits (4.7%) were referred for nonurgent consultation with another subspecialty with no instances of urgent referrals. Sixteen patients (1.7%) were referred to the on-call clinician for a same-day emergency in-person visit or recommended for a subsequent standard in-person visit to reach a management decision. There were no cases of irreversible vision loss following a hybrid visit.Conclusions and RelevanceThese findings suggest that with the appropriate patient selection and clinical setting, the hybrid ophthalmology telemedicine model may be a good alternative to standard in-person visits, particularly for patients with glaucoma and retinal diseases.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Outcomes of a Hybrid Ophthalmology Telemedicine Model for Outpatient Eye Care During COVID-19

et al. 2022

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“…Furthermore, there have been numerous articles published on the importance of telemedicine in the control of patients with DM. Such system can detect the presence of DR as early as possible, especially for DME or severe-or proliferative-DR [17][18][19][20][21]. Similarly, the use of new AI technologies applied to DR diagnosis are being developed, driven by the pandemic [22,23].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 on the Control of Diabetic Patients in Diabetic Retinopathy and its Screening

Romero-Aroca¹,

Baget-Bernaldiz²,

Sagarra³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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(1) Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) and the COVID-19 pandemic has affected screening programmes. The aim of present study was to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the screening of diabetes patients in our Health Care Area (HCA); (2) Methods: A retrospective study of patients with DM who had attended the DR screening programme between January 2015 and June 2022. We studied attendance, DM metabolic control and DR incidence. (3) Results: Screening for DR decreased in the first months of the pandemic. Incidence of mild and moderate DR remained stable throughout the study, and we observed a little increase in severe-DR, proliferative-DR and neovascular glaucoma, during 2021 and 2022. (4) Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic caused a reduction in the number of patients screened for DM, although its effect on DR seems limited, with a similar number of patients with DR throughout 2015 to 2022, despite the number of patients with severe-DR and proliferative-DR increased in 2021 and 2022.

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Digital Healthcare Provision Policies in United Arab Emirates (UAE) Amid COVID-19

Yasmin

Refae

Eletter

2022

Digital Economy, Business Analytics, and Big Data Analytics Applications

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COVID-19 Launches Retinal Telemedicine into the Next Frontier

Cited by 12 publications

References 50 publications

Outcomes of a Hybrid Ophthalmology Telemedicine Model for Outpatient Eye Care During COVID-19

Outcomes of a Hybrid Ophthalmology Telemedicine Model for Outpatient Eye Care During COVID-19

Impact of the COVID-19 on the Control of Diabetic Patients in Diabetic Retinopathy and its Screening

Digital Healthcare Provision Policies in United Arab Emirates (UAE) Amid COVID-19

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