Open AccessTelemedicine for Glaucoma: Guidelines and Recommendations
Author(s) -
Kenman D. Gan,
Yao Liu,
Brian C. Stagg,
Sonika Rathi,
Louis R. Pasquale,
Karim F. Damji
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
telemedicine and e-health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.951
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1556-3669
pISSN - 1530-5627
DOI - 10.1089/tmj.2020.0009
Subject(s) - glaucoma , telemedicine , medicine , gonioscopy , optometry , guideline , fundus photography , intraocular pressure , blindness , medical emergency , health care , ophthalmology , retinal , fluorescein angiography , pathology , economics , economic growth
Background: Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Access to glaucoma specialists is challenging and likely to become more difficult as the population ages. Introduction: Using telemedicine for glaucoma (teleglaucoma) has the potential to increase access to glaucoma care by improving efficiency and decreasing the need for long-distance travel for patients. Results: Teleglaucoma programs can be used for screening, diagnostic consultation, and long-term treatment monitoring. Key components of teleglaucoma programs include patient history, equipment, intraocular pressure measurement, pachymetry, anterior chamber imaging/gonioscopy, fundus photography, retinal nerve fiber layer imaging, medical record and imaging software, and skilled personnel. Discussion: Teleglaucoma has tremendous potential to improve patient access to high-quality cost-effective glaucoma care. Conclusions: We have reviewed some special considerations needed to address the complexity of providing guideline-concordant glaucoma care.