Postoperative evaluation of patients following ophthalmic surgery.

We have used telemedicine to support the postoperative evaluation of patients who have had ophthalmic surgery. Mobile telemedicine workstations connected using three ISDN lines have enabled us to review patients at an outreach clinic on the first postoperative day. Video slit-lamp images of the patient are captured by a trained ophthalmic nurse at the outreach clinic and viewed by surgeons at Moorfields Eye Hospital in central London during live teleconsultations. During the study period, over 80 teleconsultations were carried out on postoperative cataract, trabeculectomy and combined procedures. Preliminary results are very encouraging. Although 8 (33%) of 24 patients were anxious about being involved in the teleconsultation, 20 (83%) had confidence in the system and only one (4%) found the experience unacceptable.