Teleophthalmology Using Remote Retinal Imaging During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Teleophthalmology provides earlier eye care access for patients with newly-diagnosed diabetes

Purpose

Timely diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy is important in preventing vision loss. This study aims to determine if remote retinal imaging enables earlier eye care access among newly-diagnosed diabetic patients.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Methods

Using the OptumLabs® Data Warehouse - a longitudinal, real-world dataset containing deidentified administrative claims and electronic health record (EHR) data, we included 968 846 adults with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes and at least 1 year of continuous enrollment. We compared time from initial diabetes diagnosis to first eye exam by remote screening or in-person eye exam.

Results

We found that at year 1 after diagnosis, 5459 (0.56%) patients underwent remote imaging and 208 023 (21.5%) underwent in-person exam. The mean (95% CI) time to eye exam was 3.48 (3.38-3.58) months for remote imaging and 4.22 (4.20-4.23) months for in-person visits (p < 0.0001). Interestingly, 27.5% of remote screenings were performed on the same day of diabetes diagnosis. Excluding same-day encounters, mean time to eye exam was 4.80 (4.68-4.91) months for remote imaging and 4.85 (4.83-4.86) months for in-person eyecare (p = 0.4).

Conclusions

Thus, teleophthalmology may enable earlier eye care access among patients with newly-diagnosed diabetes, primarily with same-day screenings. Increased adoption of teleretinal screening may enable earlier detection of diabetic retinopathy and prevent vision loss.

Barriers to Implementation of Teleretinal Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Programs Across the University of California

Aim: To describe barriers to implementation of diabetic retinopathy (DR) teleretinal screening programs and artificial intelligence (AI) integration at the University of California (UC). Methods: Institutional representatives from UC Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Irvine, and Davis were surveyed for the year of their program's initiation, active status at the time of survey (December 2021), number of primary care clinics involved, screening image quality, types of eye providers, image interpretation turnaround time, and billing codes used. Representatives were asked to rate perceptions toward barriers to teleretinal DR screening and AI implementation using a 5-point Likert scale. Results: Four UC campuses had active DR teleretinal screening programs at the time of survey and screened between 246 and 2,123 patients at 1-6 clinics per campus. Sites reported variation between poor-quality photos (<5% to 15%) and average image interpretation time (1-5 days). Patient education, resource availability, and infrastructural support were identified as barriers to DR teleretinal screening. Cost and integration into existing technology infrastructures were identified as barriers to AI integration in DR screening. Conclusions: Despite the potential to increase access to care, there remain several barriers to widespread implementation of DR teleretinal screening. More research is needed to develop best practices to overcome these barriers.

Factors Associated with Follow-Up Adherence After Teleophthalmology for Diabetic Eye Screening Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract Background: Follow-up adherence with in-person care is critical for achieving improved clinical outcomes in telemedicine screening programs. We sought to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon follow-up adherence and factors associated with follow-up adherence after teleophthalmology for diabetic eye screening. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of adults screened in a clinical teleophthalmology program at urban and rural primary care clinics between May 2015 and December 2020. We defined follow-up adherence as medical record documentation of an in-person eye exam within 1 year among patients referred for further care. Regression models were used to identify factors associated with follow-up adherence. Results: Among 948 patients, 925 (97.6%) had health insurance and 170 (17.9%) were referred for follow-up. Follow-up adherence declined from 62.7% (n = 52) prepandemic to 46.0% (n = 40) during the pandemic (p = 0.04). There was a significant decline in follow-up adherence among patients from rural (p < 0.001), but not urban (p = 0.72) primary care clinics. Higher median household income (odds ratio [OR] 1.68, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19-2.36) and obtaining care from an urban clinic (OR 5.29, 95% CI: 2.09-13.43) were associated with greater likelihood of follow-up during the pandemic. Discussion: Follow-up adherence remains limited after teleophthalmology screening even in a highly insured patient population, with a further decline observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results suggest that rural patients and those with lower socioeconomic status experienced greater barriers to follow-up eye care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: Addressing barriers to in-person follow-up care is needed to effectively improve clinical outcomes after teleophthalmology screening.