Remote Screening for Vision Loss From Diabetes
Can such a program be broadly applied to the screening and risk assessment of patients with diabetes outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs? On the basis of the Department's experience with more than 1 million patients screened safely over an 8-year period, the answer is yes.
Not surprisingly, patients have enthusiastically embraced this program -- in part because the time required for a complete eye examination with dilation is considerably longer than for a nonmydriatic teleretinal study, and without dilation, they can immediately resume their daily activities. Furthermore, face-to-face examinations are more costly to both patients and third-party insurers. Nonmydriatic teleretinal imaging is more time-efficient, improves adherence to self-care, and can offer favorable cost-effectiveness in assessing the degree of diabetic retinopathy compared with a standard clinical examination.
The job of the eye care community is to work proactively with primary care providers and other stakeholders to ensure that screening and risk management is accomplished for all patients with diabetes and, if necessary, that these patients are managed for visually disabling diabetic eye disease before irreversible vision loss occurs. Our fellow Americans deserve it, and our government may soon demand it.
Beyond the VA
Can such a program be broadly applied to the screening and risk assessment of patients with diabetes outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs? On the basis of the Department's experience with more than 1 million patients screened safely over an 8-year period, the answer is yes.
Not surprisingly, patients have enthusiastically embraced this program -- in part because the time required for a complete eye examination with dilation is considerably longer than for a nonmydriatic teleretinal study, and without dilation, they can immediately resume their daily activities. Furthermore, face-to-face examinations are more costly to both patients and third-party insurers. Nonmydriatic teleretinal imaging is more time-efficient, improves adherence to self-care, and can offer favorable cost-effectiveness in assessing the degree of diabetic retinopathy compared with a standard clinical examination.
The job of the eye care community is to work proactively with primary care providers and other stakeholders to ensure that screening and risk management is accomplished for all patients with diabetes and, if necessary, that these patients are managed for visually disabling diabetic eye disease before irreversible vision loss occurs. Our fellow Americans deserve it, and our government may soon demand it.
SHARE
