Use of Telehealth Screening to Detect Diabetic Retinopathy and Other Ocular Findings in Primary Care Settings.

Purpose: To determine the incidence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and other ocular findings in previously diagnosed diabetes using telehealth retinal screening with nonmydriatic fundus photography (nFP) in primary care physicians' offices.Methods: A retrospective study based on electronic chart review was performed. All diabetic patients who participated in the Wills Eye Hospital (WEH) telehealth retinal screening program from July 1, 2012 to February 20, 2017 were included. In addition to evaluation of DR, other eye pathologies of the retina were detected using nFP.Results: Overall, 9,946 diabetics participated in the WEH telehealth screening system. After exclusion of missing or unreadable images, 15,180 eyes of 7,624 (76.7%) patients were eligible for final analysis. A total of 1,269 (16.6%) patients were noted to have DR changes in at least one eye. Of those, 475 (37.4%) had mild nonproliferative DR (NPDR) in the more severely affected eye, 712 (56.1%) had moderate NPDR, 33 (2.6%) had severe NPDR, 19 (1.5%) had proliferative DR, and 30 (2.4%) have received pan-retinal photocoagulation previously. In addition, there was evidence of diabetic macular edema detectable on nFP in 34 eyes of 29 patients. Other ocular findings included hypertensive retinopathy (709, 9.3%), increased or asymmetric cup-to-disc ratio (562, 7.4%), age-related cataract (379, 5.0%), cotton-wool spots (221, 2.9%), choroidal nevus (74, 1.0%), age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (66, 0.9%), and epiretinal membrane (48, 0.6%). Patients with hypertensive retinopathy, glaucomatous findings, cataract, or AMD were significantly older (p < 0.001) than those without these ocular pathologies.Conclusion: The WEH Telehealth Screening Program identified DR in approximately one out of six patients and other ocular pathologies in over 25% of the diabetic population that received screenings in Philadelphia area primary care offices. Given the importance of early detection and routine eye care to prevent vision loss for DR patients, these findings have a significant impact.

Philadelphia Telemedicine Glaucoma Detection and Follow-up Study: Methods and Screening Results.

PURPOSE: To describe methodology and screening results from the Philadelphia Telemedicine Glaucoma Detection and Follow-up Study. DESIGN: Screening program results for a prospective randomized clinical trial. METHODS: Individuals were recruited who were African-American, Hispanic/Latino, or Asian over age 40 years; white individuals over age 65 years; and any ethnicity over age 40 years with a family history of glaucoma or diabetes. Primary care offices and Federally Qualified Health Centers were used for telemedicine (Visit 1). Two posterior fundus photographs and 1 anterior segment photograph were captured per eye in each participant, using a nonmydriatic, autofocus, hand-held fundus camera (Volk Optical, Mentor, Ohio, USA). Medical and ocular history, family history of glaucoma, visual acuity, and intraocular pressure measurements using the ICare rebound tonometer (ICare, Helsinki, Finland) were obtained. Images were read remotely by a trained retina reader and a glaucoma specialist. RESULTS: From April 1, 2015, to February 6, 2017, 906 individuals consented and attended Visit 1. Of these, 553 participants were female (61.0%) and 550 were African-American (60.7%), with a mean age of 58.7 years. A total of 532 (58.7%) participants had diabetes, and 616 (68%) had a history of hypertension. During Visit 1, 356 (39.3%) participants were graded with a normal image. Using image data from the worse eye, 333 (36.8%) were abnormal and 155 (17.1%) were unreadable. A total of 258 (28.5%) had a suspicious nerve, 62 (6.8%) had ocular hypertension, 102 (11.3%) had diabetic retinopathy, and 68 (7.5%) had other retinal abnormalities. CONCLUSION: An integrated telemedicine screening intervention in primary care offices and Federally Qualified Health Centers detected high rate of suspicious optic nerves, ocular hypertension, and retinal pathology.