Telemedicine in diabetic retinopathy: Access to rural India

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a growing concern in India. The first step in management of DR is timely screening. With 10% prevalence in rural India, 11 million people are likely to have DR by the year 2030. With limited resources and skilled manpower, it will not be possible to have routine eye examination to identify and treat these patients on a regular basis. Telemedicine is a possible answer in these situations where patients could be remotely screened and appropriately advised. With the advent of several technological advances such as low cost hand-held nonmydriatic camera, increased capabilities of the smartphones to take external eye and retinal photographs coupled with improving broadband connectivity; teleophthalmology in the management of DR could be a reality in the not too distant future.