A game changer for eye care for diabetes

very patient with diabetes is at risk of losing vision, but up to 98% of the cases of severe vision E loss could be prevented. At any given time, about a third of patients with diabetes will have diabetic retinopathy, and one in ten will experience sight-threatening retinopathy requiring prompt treatment. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines recommend an eye examination every 2 years for non-Indigenous Australians with diabetes, and annual examinations for Indigenous people with diabetes. However, approximately only half of non-Indigenous patients with diabetes and only one in five of Indigenous Australians with diabetes receive the recommended eye examinations.