EVALUATION OF A TELEMEDICINE MODEL TO FOLLOW UP PATIENTS WITH EXUDATIVE AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION.

Purpose: To evaluate a telemedicine model to follow up patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration and compare the time spent using this model with the time spent conducting office examinations.

Methods: Results of office and telemedicine evaluations were compared to determine whether patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration previously treated with intravitreal injections needed additional treatment. The office examinations included visual acuity measurement, fundus examination, and optical coherence tomography.

Formalize clinical processes into electronic health information systems: Modelling a screening service for diabetic retinopathy.

Most healthcare services use information and communication technologies to reduce and redistribute the workload associated with follow-up of chronic conditions. However, the lack of normalization of the information handled in and exchanged between such services hinders the scalability and extendibility. The use of medical standards for modelling and exchanging information, especially dual-model based approaches, can enhance the features of screening services.

On the seamless, harmonized use of ISO/IEEE11073 and openEHR.

Standardized exchange of clinical information is a key factor in the provision of high quality health care systems. In this context, the openEHR specification facilitates the management of health data in electronic health records (EHRs), while the ISO/IEEE11073 (also referred to as X73PHD) family of standards provides a reference framework for medical device interoperability. Hospitals and health care providers using openEHR require flawless integration of data coming from external sources, such as X73PHD.

Diabetic retinopathy screening by general practitioners using non-mydriatic retinography.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of visual loss in people aged 30 to 69 years. Most authorities recommend screening of the ocular fundus to prevent severe visual loss. The increasing incidence of diabetes mellitus and fewer ophthalmologists in many countries is leading to inadequate screening.

Diabetic retinopathy screening with non-mydriatic retinography by general practitioners: 2-year results.

Aims: To ascertain in real practice the diagnosis rate of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients considered to have positive screening test by general practitioners (GPs) and what are the reasons for the false positive diagnosis.

Methods: Four GPs previously instructed in the interpretation of retinal photographs evaluated the digital retinography images of patients with diabetes obtained during a 2-year period. When the images were considered normal, a new appointment was scheduled for 1 year later and a report was emailed to the referring physician.