Telemedicine for diabetic retinopathy screening in an urban, insured population using fundus cameras in a primary care office setting

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: This study examines the rate of adherence to recommended ophthalmology follow-up after primary care-based telemedicine diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective observational study of 5,764 insured diabetic patients undergoing telemedicine DR screening between May 2015 and April 2017 in an urban primary care setting. Patients underwent non-mydriatic fundus photography for telemedicine DR screening. The main outcome measure was the “capture rate.” RESULTS: Of the patients studied, 31.7% were found to have any retinal pathology, and 20% were found to have DR. In the 11.8% percent of patients with sight-threatening retinopathy who were recommended to have a retinal examination, the capture rate was 81.9%. CONCLUSION: The authors' study demonstrated higher capture rate than has been previously reported, indicating that telemedicine DR screening in an urban, insured population may be a useful method for triaging high-risk patients without losing patients to follow-up.