Title : 2 year outcomes of a virtual glaucoma clinic in an Irish ophthalmic hospital
Abstract:
The increasing workload placed on the glaucoma service in Ireland has led to the implementation of a virtual glaucoma service in the country’s leading eye hospital. Briefly, those with stable glaucoma who require monitoring attend on a regular basis for visual acuity, IOP measurement, stereoscopic disc photographs and fields. These measurements are taken by a nurse trained specifically for these tasks and the results are then reviewed by a doctor. This allows for decompression of the in-person clinics and allows these clinics to be reserved for more serious cases or those in which surgical management is being considered. The virtual glaucoma service acts as a safety net for patients who may progress rapidly and require changes to treatment or transfer to the in-person clinic. This presentation will demonstrate the overall safety of this approach, the numbers of patients seen in this clinic, the effect on waiting times for the in-person clinic and the sub-types of glaucoma in patients being followed up this way
Audience Take Away Notes:
- Pros and cons of a virtual glaucoma service
- Technical and organisational requisites for a virtual service
- Limitations of a virtual service
- Issues that arose in our service and how they were dealt with
