Patel, Dilisha;
Abdi, Sarah;
Carmichael, Josie;
Balaskas, Konstantinos;
Blandford, Ann;
(2024)
What are the experiences of teleophthalmology in optometric referral pathways? A qualitative interview study with patients and clinicians.
BMJ OPEN
, 14
(5)
, Article e078161. 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-078161.
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Abstract
Objective Implementing teleophthalmology into the optometric referral pathway may ease the current pressures on hospital eye services caused by over-referrals from some optometrists. This study aimed to understand the practical implications of implementing teleophthalmology by analysing lived experiences and perceptions of teleophthalmology in the optometric referral pathway for suspected retinal conditions. Design Qualitative in-depth interview study Setting Fourteen primary care optometry practices and four secondary care hospital eye services from four NHS Foundation Trusts across the UK. Participants We interviewed 41 participants: patients (17), optometrists (18), and ophthalmologists (6) who were involved in the HERMES study. Through thematic analysis, we collated and present their experiences of implementing teleophthalmology. Results All participants interviewed were positive towards teleophthalmology as it could enable efficiencies in the referral pathway and improve feedback and communication between patients and healthcare professionals. Concerns included setup costs for optometrists and anxieties from patients about not seeing an ophthalmologist face to face. However, reducing unnecessary visits and increasing the availability of resources and capacity were seen as significant benefits. Conclusions Overall, we report positive experiences of implementing teleophthalmology into the optometric referral pathway for suspected retinal conditions. Successful implementation will require appropriate investment to set up and integrate new technology and remunerate services, and continued evaluation to ensure timely feedback to patients and between healthcare professionals is received. Trial registration number ISRCTN18106677.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | What are the experiences of teleophthalmology in optometric referral pathways? A qualitative interview study with patients and clinicians |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-078161 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-078161 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Medicine, General & Internal, General & Internal Medicine, Telemedicine, Public health, OPHTHALMOLOGY, CARE |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Institute of Ophthalmology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Computer Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Med Phys and Biomedical Eng |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10206568 |
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