Real-time teleophthalmology in rural Western Australia
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the current utilisation of a real-time teleophthalmology service for rural Western Australia (WA). DESIGN: Service evaluation by prospective audit. SETTING: Includes general practices, optometrists, hospitals in rural WA and the Lions Eye Institute in Perth. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty-five patients from rural WA participating. INTERVENTIONS: Video consultation (VC) with a general ophthalmologist. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of referring practitioners and their locations, software and imaging equipment used as well as the presentation, working diagnosis and follow-up plan for each consultation. RESULTS: Eighty-five participants took part in a total of 100 VCs in the 5-month data collection period. There were 49 men (58%); age range 7-92 years; 31 identified as Indigenous Australian (37%). Participants were referred by optometrists (59%), hospital district medical officers (23%) and GPs (18%). Karratha (41%), Albany (20%) and Broome (14%) were the main VC locations. There were 31 different eye conditions managed; red eye, acute vision loss, known glaucoma and abnormal retinal photographs were the main presentations. Skype was the commonly used software (71%). Images were provided in 63% of all VCs. The main equipment used included digital retinal cameras (56%), smartphones (25%) and digital slit lamps (13%). An outpatient appointment with the ophthalmologist was recommended following 35 VCs. CONCLUSIONS: Optometrists used this service most frequently, despite a lack of financial incentive. Digital retinal cameras and smartphones were the most commonly used imaging modalities. Overall, real-time teleophthalmology was used in the management of a broad range of eye conditions and was a useful supplement to outreach ophthalmology services.
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Tele-ophthalmology could one day be a useful tool to provide health care services in remote communities but further investigations and financial incentives would be required.
“Although the publication did not report positively on tele-medicine, it did conclude that tele-ophthalmology could one day be a useful tool to provide health care services in remote communities but that further investigations and financial incentives would be required (Johnson et al., 2015).”
From Patient and practitioner satisfaction with tele-dermatology including Australia’s indigenous population: A systematic review of the literature (2016) · cites this paper as Johnson et al., 2015
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- Authors
- Johnson, K. A., Meyer, J., Yazar, S., & Turner, A. W.
- Affiliations
- Lions Eye Institute (AU)
- Venue
- Australian Journal of Rural Health
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-04-08
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 142-149
- ISSN
- 1038-5282 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1547293592
- Cited by
- 44
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 8
- FWCI
- 5.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Australian Journal of Rural Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Ögonfonden
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Ophthalmology › Ophthalmology and Visual Health Research
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Healthcare Systems and Technology
- Keywords
- teleophthalmology, video consultation, rural eye care, optometrists, smartphone imaging, referral patterns, Indigenous Australians, glaucoma, red eye, vision loss, Western Australia
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Child, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Ophthalmology, Prospective Studies, Referral and Consultation, Rural Population, Video Recording, Western Australia, Databases, Factual, Telemedicine, Young Adult, General Practice
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