Use of a Tablet Attachment in Teleophthalmology for Real-Time Video Transmission from Rural Vision Centers in a Three-Tier Eye Care Network in India: eyeSmart Cyclops

Loomba, Abhinav; Vempati, Sandeep; Davara, NavyaDeepthi; Shravani, M; Kammari, Priyanka; Taneja, Mukesh; Das, Anthony Vipin

doi:10.1155/2019/5683085

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The authors have already described their experience to use this modality in their multi-tier network for the rural vision centres consults through the development of the eyeSmart App to collect information[ 17 ], share clinical pictures for ophthalmologist opinion[ 18 ] and transmission of real time slit lamp video from their vision centres. [ 19 ] There is potential to explore the same for managing follow up patients coming from distant regions to the tertiary care centres through tele-ophthalmology and integrating this into the patient care services of the organization in near future. The possibility to integrate with elderly follow-up care for the geriatric patients presenting to our network supported by portable diagnostic equipment is being explored as well.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tele-consultations and electronic medical records driven remote patient care: Responding to the COVID-19 lockdown in India

Das

Rani

Vaddavalli

2020

Indian J Ophthalmol

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Purpose: To describe the experience of tele-consultations addressed at the centre of excellence of a multi-tier ophthalmology hospital network in India during the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown. Methods: This cross-sectional hospital-based study included 7,008 tele-consultations presenting between March 23 rd and April 19 th 2020. A three-level protocol was implemented to triage the calls. The data of patient queries were collected using a Google Form/Sheets and the tele-calls were returned using the patient information retrieved from the electronic medical record system. Results: Overall, 7,008 tele-calls were addressed, of which 2,805 (40.02%) patients where a clinical-related query was answered were included for analysis. The most common queries were related to redness/pain/watering/blurring of vision (31.52%), closely followed by usage of medications (31.05%). The majority of the queries were directed to the department of cornea (34.15%), followed by retina (24.74%). Less than one-fifth of the patients were from the lower socio-economic class (16.08%) and one-fourth were new patients (23.96%). The most common advice given to the patient was related to management of medications (54.15%) followed by appointment related (17.79%). Emergency requests requiring further evaluation by an ophthalmologist accounted for a small percentage (16.36%) of patients. Conclusion: Tracking of tele-consultations and access to patient information from the electronic medical records enabled a timely response in an ongoing lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The current experience provided valuable insights to the possibility of managing patient follow-up visits remotely in the future.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tele-consultations and electronic medical records driven remote patient care: Responding to the COVID-19 lockdown in India

Das

Rani

Vaddavalli

2020

Indian J Ophthalmol

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“…Telemedicine is not new, having evolved well before the present pandemic in an attempt to address the medical care gap of various medical specialties in rural area. [ 6 7 8 9 ] Teleophthalmology and teleoptometry services provide an alternative approach in rural areas for the diagnosis of various diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, rehabilitative services for the visually impaired. [ 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 ] Telemedicine also saves money, time and travel for the patient.…”

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confidence: 99%

Validation of visual acuity applications for teleophthalmology during COVID-19

Satgunam

Thakur

Sachdeva

et al. 2021

Indian Journal of Ophthalmology

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Purpose: The objective of this study was to identify and validate smartphone-based visual acuity (VA) apps that can be used in a teleophthalmology portal. Methods: The study was conducted in three phases: A survey to investigate if the SmartOptometry App was easy to download, understand and test (phase I), an in-clinic comparison of VA measured in a random testing order with four tools namely COMPlog, Reduced Snellen near vision, Peek Acuity (Distance VA) and SmartOptometry (Near VA) (phase II) and a repeatability study on these 4 tools by measuring VA again (phase III). The study recruited the employees of our institute and adhered to the strict COVID-19 protocols of testing. Results: Phase I Survey ( n = 40) showed 90% of participants used android phones, 60% reported that instructions were clear, and all users were able to self-assess their near VA with SmartOptometry App. Phase II ( n = 68) revealed that Peek Acuity was comparable to COMPlog VA ( P = 0.31), however SmartOptometry was statistically significantly different (within 2 log MAR lines) from Reduced Snellen near vision test, particularly for young ( n = 44, P = 0.004) and emmetropic ( n = 16, P = 0.04) participants. All the 4 tests were found to be repeatable in phase III ( n = 10) with a coefficient of repeatability ≤0.14. Conclusion: Smartphone-based apps were easy to download and can be used for checking patient's distance and near visual acuity. An effect of age and refractive error should be considered when interpreting the results. Further studies with real-time patients are required to identify potential benefits and challenges to solve.

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“…Kumar et al reported that the tele-ophthalmology services are cost-e ective for the patients in the rural areas in the substitute of conventional eye care at the higher centers [11]. Real time video transmission using tablet attachment in teleophthalmology has recently been described in literature [12]. Similar to these two studies, 73% of the patients in the rural centers could receive timely intervention in the current study with the help of eyeSmart EMR app in a tablet which had a verbal and video facility for face to face interaction of the patient and ophthalmologist occurred through the command center.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

App-Based Tele Ophthalmology: A Novel Method of Rural Eye Care Delivery Connecting Tertiary Eye Care Center and Vision Centers in India

Das

Mididoddi

Kammari

et al. 2019

International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications

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Purpose. The study aims to describe a novel method of utilization of the eyeSmart EMR (electronic medical record) app. It describes the demographic distribution, clinical presentation, query requested by the vision technician, and management advised to the patients by using “eyeSmart EMR” app from the vision centers located across a three-tier eye care network in India. Methods. This is a retrospective review of all patients who required a tele-ophthalmology consultation from January 2017 to August 2018. The demographic, clinical details, and the impact of teleophthalmology using eyeSmart app, in the vision centers of a three-tier eye care network, was analyzed in detail. Results. A total of 15,001 tele-ophthalmology consults were included which is from January 2017 to August 2018. The mean age was 38 ± 19 years and male to female ratio was 1 : 2. Video calls were performed for 6191 (41.27%) consults and the impact was measured. Additional clinical information was received in 65.61% consults through video call. Medical management was advised in 47.07% of patients and 30.30% were referred to higher centers for medical intervention and 0.59% were referred for surgical intervention, 16.23% were prescribed glasses. No intervention required for 0.69% of cases. Hence nil intervention was advised. Conclusion. The combination of using tablet and video calls with the help of eyeSmart EMR app is a novel method in teleophthalmology. It helps in connecting the patients at rural areas and the ophthalmologists in higher centers. The use of technology plays a vital role in the appropriate medical management of the patient.

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Use of a Tablet Attachment in Teleophthalmology for Real-Time Video Transmission from Rural Vision Centers in a Three-Tier Eye Care Network in India: eyeSmart Cyclops

Cited by 12 publications

References 9 publications

Tele-consultations and electronic medical records driven remote patient care: Responding to the COVID-19 lockdown in India

Tele-consultations and electronic medical records driven remote patient care: Responding to the COVID-19 lockdown in India

Validation of visual acuity applications for teleophthalmology during COVID-19

App-Based Tele Ophthalmology: A Novel Method of Rural Eye Care Delivery Connecting Tertiary Eye Care Center and Vision Centers in India

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