ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To determine the accuracy of a county teleretinal screening program of detecting referable diabetic retinopathy (DR) and treatable diabetic macular edema (DME), as well as to evaluate patient compliance with clinic follow-up after referral from teleretinal screening. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study. PARTICIPANTS: Patients in the Harris Health System (HHS, Houston, TX) older than 18 years of age who underwent teleretinal screening between July 2014 and July 2016. METHODS: Teleretinal imaging (TRI) consisting of single-field 45-degree nonmydriatic color fundus photography with referral thresholds of severe nonproliferative DR, proliferative DR, and significant DME. Teleretinal imaging results for all referred subjects were obtained and cross-referenced with dilated fundus examination findings with regard to DR severity and the presence of DME. Follow-up status was also noted. Subjects underwent OCT if deemed necessary by the examining specialist. Agreement between TRI and dilated fundus examination (DFE) findings was determined by calculating the Cohen κ coefficient. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measure is agreement between TRI results and DFE findings with regard to DR severity and the presence of DME. The secondary outcome measure is compliance with follow-up. RESULTS: Of 1767 patients who were screened and referred for clinical examination, 935 (52.9%) attended their clinic appointment. Overall agreement between DFE and TRI was moderate (weighted κ 0.45) in terms of DR severity. There was agreement within one DR severity level in 86.2% of patients. The positive predictive value for detecting referable disease was 71.3%. Of patients referred for DME, 30.4% were deemed to have treatable DME. CONCLUSIONS: The HHS teleretinal screening program demonstrates a high level of accuracy in the detection and classification of referable DR, but a lesser degree of accuracy in the detection of treatable DME. Only slightly more than half of participants were compliant with follow-up after a TRI referral. This large-scale study provides insight into the utility of teleretinal screening in a county health care system.