Eye Care Productivity and Access in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System.

Objectives: Eye care in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System is challenged with increasing demand and higher prevalence of patients with complex ocular conditions. Understanding factors that impact eye care productivity and access is necessary for appropriate allocation of resources. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of various eye clinic personnel on eye care provider productivity and patient access.

Retrospective Evaluation of a Teleretinal Screening Program in Detecting Multiple Nondiabetic Eye Diseases.

Background: Diabetic teleretinal screening programs have been utilized successfully across the world to detect diabetic retinopathy (DR) and are well validated. Less information, however, exists on the ability of teleretinal imaging to detect nondiabetic ocular pathology.

Introduction: This study performed a retrospective evaluation to assess the ability of a community-based diabetic teleretinal screening program to detect common ocular disease other than DR.

Factors that influence changes in wheelchair cushion performance over time.

Wheelchair cushions can be used for many hours every day. Like all devices, cushions degrade over time, losing the ability to provide adequate support. Little is known about the changes that cushions undergo after typical everyday use.

A novel tele-eye protocol for ocular disease detection and access to eye care services.

Background: Telemedicine can improve access to care, especially for rural patients, and ophthalmology is a field that lends itself readily to telemedicine because interpretation of photographs is a routine part of diagnosing eye disease and patient care. We developed a novel tele-eye protocol based on diabetic teleretinal screening. We performed a feasibility study to see if our tele-eye program was comparable to the gold standard face-to-face eye exam.

Veteran eye disease after eligibility reform: prevalence and characteristics.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of eye disease in new "routine" eye patients at the Atlanta Veteran Affairs Medical Center.

Design: Retrospective chart review of all new eye patients seen in the Atlanta Veteran Affairs Medical Center Comprehensive Eye Clinic over a 2-month period (January 1, 2008-February 28, 2008).

Participants: 691 charts met inclusion criteria, with 33 charts excluded for insufficient documentation in the medical record.

Mnemonic strategy training improves memory for object location associations in both healthy elderly and patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a randomized, single-blind study.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of mnemonic strategy training versus a matched-exposure control condition and to examine the relationship between training-related gains, neuropsychological abilities, and medial temporal lobe volumetrics in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and age-matched healthy controls.

Method: Twenty-three of 45 screened healthy controls and 29 of 42 screened patients with aMCI were randomized to mnemonic strategy or matched-exposure groups. Groups were run in parallel, with participants blind to the other intervention.

Variables associated with outcome in patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction.

Background: Not all individuals with unilateral vestibular hypofunction (UVH) have fewer subjective complaints and improved function after vestibular rehabilitation.

Objective: To identify factors and/or combinations of factors that are strongly associated with rehabilitation outcome in patients with UVH and that ultimately can be used to develop models to predict outcome.

Methods: Data from 209 patients with UVH were analyzed.