A new study recently published online by JAMA Internal Medicine examines the successful implementation of a large-scale primary care-based teleretinal diabetic retinopathy screening (TDRS) program by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS), which reportedly resulted in reducing screening wait times by 89.2 percent.
According to the study's authors, timely access to specialty services — especially eye care — is a challenge in the Los Angeles DHS, as more than 200 primary eye care clinics refer patients to six optometry and four ophthalmology clinics. This resulted in wait times of historically eight months or more for retinal examinations for newly-diagnosed diabetes patients.
The TDRS program was reportedly implemented throughout 15 of the largest primary care clinics operated by Los Angeles DHS. Certified medical assistants and licensed vocational nurses were reportedly trained as fundus photographers to take images of the back of the eye, including the retina, that were read by optometrists, with three ophthalmologists performing quality assurance on 10 percent of cases.
Upon evaluation, researchers found the TDRS program eliminated the need for more than 14,000 visits to specialty care professionals, resulted in a 16.3 percent increase in annual rates of diabetic retinopathy screening, and reduced wait times for screening 89.2 percent.
The study was recently published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.
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