Analysis of ophthalmology workforce and delivery of emergency department eye care in Florida.

OBJECTIVE: To measure annual population-based volume of emergency department (ED) eye care and concurrent ophthalmology on-call coverage. METHODS: Analysis and correlation of the 2006 Florida Agency of Health Care Administration ED and inpatient data sets with the 2007 Florida Physician Workforce Survey. RESULTS: The Florida Physician Workforce Survey showed 46.3% of ophthalmologists surveyed took ED call in Florida in 2006. Based on estimates derived from the survey, 462 to 532 ophthalmologists participated in ED coverage that year. The level of workload varied considerably depending on International Classification of Diseases code diagnosis. Annual workload for open wounds to the eye, on average, ranged from 2.7 to 3.1 per ophthalmologist taking ED call. CONCLUSIONS: Strategic planning for the delivery of ED eye care needs to consider both the number and types of cases presenting to the ED and the availability of ophthalmologists to provide care that other specialists cannot. This preliminary study explores the use of a workload statistic that may help to gauge manpower needs in the future.