Teleretinal screening for diabetic retinopathy in six Los Angeles urban safety-net clinics: final study results

In a previous paper, we presented initial findings from a study on the feasibility and challenges of implementing teleretinal screening for diabetic retinopathy in an urban safety net setting facing eyecare specialist shortages. This paper presents some final results from that study, which involved six South Los Angeles safety net clinics. A total of 2,732 unique patients were screened for diabetic retinopathy by three ophthalmologist readers, with 1035 receiving a recommendation for referral to specialty care. Referrals included 48 for proliferative diabetic retinopathy, 115 for severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), 247 for moderate NPDR, 246 for mild NPDR, 97 for clinically significant macular edema, and 282 for a non-diabetic condition, such as glaucoma. Image quality was also assessed, with ophthalmologist readers grading 4% to 13% of retinal images taken at the different clinics as being inadequate for any diagnostic interpretation.