Integrating diabetic retinopathy screening within diabetes education services in Australia's diabetes and indigenous primary care clinics

Abstract

As diabetes occurs in all ethnicities and regions it is essential that retinopathy screening be widely available. Screening rates are lower in Indigenous than in non‐Indigenous Australians. Technological advances and Medicare rebates should facilitate improved outcomes. Use of non‐ophthalmic clinicians, (general practitioners, diabetes educators, health‐workers and endocrinologists) to supplement coverage by ophthalmologists and optometrists would extend retinopathy screening capacity. Diabetes educators are an integral part of diabetes management. Integrating ocular screening and diabetes education in primary care settings has potential to improve synergistically retinopathy screening coverage, patient self‐management, risk factor control, care satisfaction, health economics and sustainability of under‐resourced services.

Delay in seeking medical care after the onset of symptoms in patients with sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy

“… 20 The integration of ocular screening and education regarding DM in the primary care setting has the potential to improve the coverage of screening for retinopathy, patient self-management and the control of risk factors, and reduce healthcare expenditure. 21 …”

“…20 The integration of ocular screening and education regarding DM in the primary care setting has the potential to improve the coverage of screening for retinopathy, patient self-management and the control of risk factors, and reduce healthcare expenditure. 21 In China, screening for eye, foot, and other complications is routinely performed by most physicians in tertiary hospitals. However, limited screening is performed in primary hospitals or community health services.…”

A model of culturally‐informed integrated diabetes education and eye screening in indigenous primary care services and specialist diabetes clinics: Study protocol

“…The ophthalmic workforce remain at the frontline of DR screening globally and have increased their delivery of outreach services and use of supplementary telehealth and mobile technologies (Atkinson‐Briggs et al, 2019). However, as the number of people with diabetes worldwide is growing, the global ophthalmic workforce is too small and concentrated in the urban regions of developed countries to remain the sole frontline provider of DR screening globally (World Health Organisation, 2019).…”