Live teleophthalmology avoids escalation of referrals to secondary care during COVID-19 lockdown.

Clinical Relevance: Following the COVID-19 lockdown, uptake of slitlamp-enabled live teleophthalmology increased. Its use contributed to a reduction of referrals escalated to secondary care during-lockdown (avoided: 64% pre-lockdown vs 86% during-lockdown).

Background: Live teleophthalmology using video conferencing allows real-time, three-way consultation between secondary care, community providers and patients, improving interpretation of slit lamp findings and potentially reducing referrals to secondary care.