Irena Tsui1,2,3, Margaret A Havunjian1, John A Davis1, JoAnn A Giaconi1,3. 1. 1 Stein Eye Institute , UCLA, Los Angeles, California. 2. 2 Doheny Eye Institute , UCLA, Los Angeles, California. 3. 3 Ophthalmology Department, West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center , Los Angeles, California.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center is a large urban facility with a robust teleretinal screening program in primary care clinic, established in 2006. The purpose of this article is to provide a snapshot of teleretinal screening at this site. METHODS: Diabetic patients from 2012 were analyzed with a prospective cohort study. Demographic information, results of teleretinal screening, referral to eye clinic, and loss to follow-up (defined as no eye care within 2 years) were collected. RESULTS: Of 516 patients with diabetes screened with teleretinal imaging, 120 patient charts were reviewed for data analysis. Teleretinal imaging diagnosed 15% (18/120) of patients with varying stages of nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (DR). Of patients screened, 55.8% (67/120) of the patients were referred to an eye clinic for further ophthalmic evaluation. Nondiabetic retinopathy reasons for eye clinic referral included glaucoma suspect (13.3%, 16/120) and age-related macular degeneration (10.0%, 12/120). Of all patients screened, 37.5% (45/120) of them were lost to follow-up, defined as no teleretinal screening or eye clinic appointment within 2 years. Patients who lived farther away from clinic had a higher risk of loss to follow-up (p = 0.04). DISCUSSION: We found, although only 15% of patients were diagnosed with DR from teleretinal screening, more than 50% of patients were referred to eye clinic. In addition, of all screened patients, there was a high rate of not returning to the Veterans Affairs (VA) for eye care.
INTRODUCTION: The West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center is a large urban facility with a robust teleretinal screening program in primary care clinic, established in 2006. The purpose of this article is to provide a snapshot of teleretinal screening at this site. METHODS:Diabeticpatients from 2012 were analyzed with a prospective cohort study. Demographic information, results of teleretinal screening, referral to eye clinic, and loss to follow-up (defined as no eye care within 2 years) were collected. RESULTS: Of 516 patients with diabetes screened with teleretinal imaging, 120 patient charts were reviewed for data analysis. Teleretinal imaging diagnosed 15% (18/120) of patients with varying stages of nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (DR). Of patients screened, 55.8% (67/120) of the patients were referred to an eye clinic for further ophthalmic evaluation. Nondiabetic retinopathy reasons for eye clinic referral included glaucoma suspect (13.3%, 16/120) and age-related macular degeneration (10.0%, 12/120). Of all patients screened, 37.5% (45/120) of them were lost to follow-up, defined as no teleretinal screening or eye clinic appointment within 2 years. Patients who lived farther away from clinic had a higher risk of loss to follow-up (p = 0.04). DISCUSSION: We found, although only 15% of patients were diagnosed with DR from teleretinal screening, more than 50% of patients were referred to eye clinic. In addition, of all screened patients, there was a high rate of not returning to the Veterans Affairs (VA) for eye care.
Authors: Molly J E Snider; Daniel Lee; Bryce Chiang; Sunil Gupta; Yousuf Khalifa; April Y Maa Journal: Telemed J E Health Date: 2021-12-31 Impact factor: 5.033