Open AccessDiabetic retinopathy screening in the public sector in India: What is needed?
Author(s) -
Vivek Gupta,
Shorya Vardhan Azad,
Praveen Vashist,
Suraj Singh Senjam,
Ajeet Kumar
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
indian journal of ophthalmology/indian journal of ophthalmology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.542
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1998-3689
pISSN - 0301-4738
DOI - 10.4103/ijo.ijo_1298_21
Subject(s) - medicine , blindness , diabetic retinopathy , referral , public health , optometry , public sector , private sector , disease , diabetes mellitus , retinopathy , family medicine , economic growth , nursing , pathology , political science , economics , endocrinology , law
India has been witnessing an epidemic of diabetes for several years now. A large proportion of patients with undiagnosed and poorly controlled diabetes are at great risk of developing diabetic retinopathy (DR) and irreversible blindness. The goal of DR screening is to identify people with sight-threatening DR early so that prompt treatment can be initiated, and blindness can be prevented. Systematic DR screening is essential to identify disease early, and a national effort for the same is required. We adopt a health system approach to outline the actions that need to take place for effective DR screening in the public sector in India. We discuss the role of national leadership, needs assessment, finalization of DR screening and referral pathway, trainings, strategies to improve the uptake, allocation of roles and responsibilities, public-private partnerships, quality control, and financing.