A novel tele-eye protocol for ocular disease detection and access to eye care services.
Telemed J E Health
; 20(4): 318-23, 2014 Apr.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-24527668
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Telemedicine can improve access to care, especially for rural patients, and ophthalmology is a field that lends itself readily to telemedicine because interpretation of photographs is a routine part of diagnosing eye disease and patient care. We developed a novel tele-eye protocol based on diabetic teleretinal screening. We performed a feasibility study to see if our tele-eye program was comparable to the gold standard face-to-face eye exam. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS:
Fifty-two subjects underwent the tele-eye protocol and then received a face-to-face exam. A masked reader reviewed the tele-eye data remotely and developed an impression and plan for the patient. The provider assessments from the face-to-face exams and the tele-eye exams were compared. Sensitivity, specificity, and percentage agreement were calculated for the tele-eye protocol, focusing on the most common age-related eye diseases cataract, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. The difference between the autorefraction and manifest eyeglass prescription was calculated.RESULTS:
The pilot study showed excellent percentage agreement between the screening protocol and the face-to-face exam. The percentage agreement for cataract was 100%, that for macular degeneration was 96%, and that for glaucoma suspect was 87%. The difference between the autorefraction's eyeglass prescription and the final manifest refraction was within American National Standards Institute for lens manufacturing guidelines.CONCLUSIONS:
The initial data suggest that the tele-eye program is feasible to execute and appears fairly accurate when compared with the gold standard face-to-face eye exam. However, the study is significantly limited by the small sample size. This pilot provides justification of a much larger study of a similar design.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Telemedicina
/
Oftalmopatias
/
Acessibilidade aos Serviços de Saúde
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Guideline
Aspecto:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
/
Implementation_research
Limite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Telemed J E Health
Assunto da revista:
INFORMATICA MEDICA
/
SERVICOS DE SAUDE
Ano de publicação:
2014
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Geórgia