Improving Access to Specialist Eye Care for Indigenous Australians via Telehealth: An Observational Cohort Study

Background: Indigenous people are often neglected in eye health research and service delivery programs, despite having a greater burden of vision loss, most of which is avoidable. The objective of this work was to improve access to specialist eye care for Indigenous Australians living in rural and remote areas, by providing direct access to expert diagnostic services based in metropolitan areas through a tele-ophthalmology system. Methods: Over a four-year study period, 13 remote communities in Queensland and the Northern Territory were identified that had limited or no access to eye screening services. Relationships with health service providers in the communities were established to codesign a sustainable model of service delivery and referral pathways to ensure that patients identified with eye issues received appropriate treatment. Results: Over the course of the study, screening records from 378 patients were uploaded to a web-based telehealth system and diagnosed by ophthalmologists. From these examinations, 64 new cases of diabetic retinopathy (DR) were identified (including 2 cases of proliferative DR and 4 cases of severe nonproliferative DR), and diabetic macular edema was noted in 18 patients. The majority of participants screened had no eye problems, which enables the removal of these patients from the queues of overwhelmed specialist lists, improving service efficiency. The study also demonstrates capacity building of healthcare workers to perform eye screening and improved patient health awareness where the retinal cameras were used as an educational tool. Conclusions: A valuable screening service has been established in the target areas, where access to ophthalmic services has been improved for residents of the study screening locations. Routine eye examination (instead of opportunistic eye examination) is feasible for early detection of some eye diseases for remote and rural patients.