Development of an Implementation Strategy to Optimize Uptake of Telemedicine Diabetic Retinopathy Screening in Primary Care

Grants and Contracts Details

Description

Timely screening of diabetic retinopathy – the main cause of legal blindness in working-age Americans – may prevent vision loss, but is still significantly underused, especially in remote and underserved populations. With the advent of telemedicine, DRS became more accessible to patients in rural locations, as it allowed retina pictures to be taken in primary care clinics closer to the patient’s home, and later be interpreted by a remote eye care specialist. Recently, we have implemented one of the largest rural Telemedicine DRS (TDRS) networks in the country, providing DRS to multiple counties in Eastern Kentucky. This service proved valuable and desired by patients and healthcare professionals, but many centers showed a progressive decrease in test numbers. In order to try and optimize delivery of TDRS, namely through the cameras already in place, and to increase screening rates in a sustainable, long-term fashion, we will: 1.Determine the barriers and facilitators for telemedicine diabetic retinopathy screening in primary care clinics in our network. We will identify the factors that influence execution of TDRS, at the practice, staff, and provider levels in our screening sites, through key informant interviews. 2.Conduct a feasibility and acceptability trial of a set of integration strategies to reduce identified barriers and optimize uptake of TDRS in primary care clinics. Informed by barriers and facilitators identified, we will define integration strategies to increase rates of TDRS. We will then assess their feasibility and acceptability from patients, providers, and staff involved in TDRS.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date1/1/194/30/20

Funding

  • Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation: $20,000.00

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