Experiences of Patients With Diabetes Attending a Publicly Funded Eye Care Pathway in Western Sydney: A Qualitative Study.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) complications can be prevented with regular screening and timely access to an ophthalmologist for treatment. But there are patient and health system barriers that can impact access to DR services. This study aims to identify enablers and barriers for accessing public DR eye care services in a low socio-economic urban area of Australia.

Evaluating the cost and wait-times of a task-sharing model of care for diabetic eye care: a case study from Australia.

Objectives: To determine whether a collaborative model of care that uses task-sharing for the management of low-risk diabetic retinopathy, Community Eye Care (C-EYE-C), can improve access to care and better use resources, compared with hospital-based care.

Design: Retrospective audit of medical and financial records to compare two models of care.

Setting: A large, urban tertiary Australian publicly funded hospital.

Glaucoma referrals from primary care and subsequent hospital management in an urban Australian hospital.

Background: Public hospital ophthalmology services are in high demand and patients requiring medical or surgical intervention for glaucoma may worsen while awaiting care. In Australia, tertiary hospital care requires a referral from primary care providers. This study investigates the quality of glaucoma referrals received at a tertiary public hospital in Australia, and describes the types of glaucoma cases referred for hospital management.

Improving Patient Access and Reducing Costs for Glaucoma with Integrated Hospital and Community Care: A Case Study from Australia.

Introduction: Glaucoma, a chronic eye disease requires regular monitoring and treatment to prevent vision-loss. In Australia, most public ophthalmology departments are overburdened. Community Eye Care is a 'collaborative' care model, involving community-based optometrist assessment and 'virtual review' by ophthalmologists to manage low-risk patients.

Incomplete recording of Indigenous identification status under-estimates the prevalence of Indigenous population attending Australian general practices: a cross sectional study.

Background: Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) peoples face major health disadvantage across many conditions. Recording of patients' Indigenous status in general practice records supports equitable delivery of effective clinical services. National policy and accreditation standards mandate recording of Indigenous status in patient records, however for a large proportion of general practice patient records it remains incomplete.