Abstract
Telemedicine is a viable care model during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tele-ophthalmology has
benefits in healthcare beyond the pandemic. Timely diagnosis and treatment of ocular diseases may prevent blindness. Tele-ophthalmology enables access to specialist health care services by underprivileged and disabled patients in areas with limited expertise. Nonetheless, tele-ophthalmology has been mostly used for screening a single disease
such as diabetic retinopathy. The accuracy of teleophthalmology for various diseases has not been established, although tele-ophthalmology and face-to-face consultation are comparable in terms of diagnostic outcomes. Previous studies of teleophthalmology are limited by the lack of robust clinical trials, small sample sizes, and absence of quality data, making assessment of economical and clinical benefits difficult.
This study aims to determine the diagnostic accuracy of tele-ophthalmology for cataracts,
glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), with face-to-face consultation as the gold standard, and to compare tele-ophthalmology with face-to-face consultation in terms of diagnosis, severity, and downstream costs.
benefits in healthcare beyond the pandemic. Timely diagnosis and treatment of ocular diseases may prevent blindness. Tele-ophthalmology enables access to specialist health care services by underprivileged and disabled patients in areas with limited expertise. Nonetheless, tele-ophthalmology has been mostly used for screening a single disease
such as diabetic retinopathy. The accuracy of teleophthalmology for various diseases has not been established, although tele-ophthalmology and face-to-face consultation are comparable in terms of diagnostic outcomes. Previous studies of teleophthalmology are limited by the lack of robust clinical trials, small sample sizes, and absence of quality data, making assessment of economical and clinical benefits difficult.
This study aims to determine the diagnostic accuracy of tele-ophthalmology for cataracts,
glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), with face-to-face consultation as the gold standard, and to compare tele-ophthalmology with face-to-face consultation in terms of diagnosis, severity, and downstream costs.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 18-21 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Hong Kong Medical Journal |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2023 |