Teleophthalmology: A successful model to tackle diabetic retinopathy

The aim of this study is to describe the application of teleophthalmology in screening for diabetic retinopathy in association with diabetes centers. Our model of diabetic retinopathy screening uses, technology innovation to reach out to patients who would otherwise not visit eye hospitals regularly. With more than 70 million diabetic population and only 20,000 ophthalmologists, a regular model of patients visiting eye care practitioners in person is not a feasible option in India. Technology can be used to address this gap, wherein Welcare sets up a telemedicine facility in existing diabetes centers, which includes a fundus camera, telemedicine platform and also more importantly provides a network of reporting ophthalmologists who see the images from these centers and report back within ½ h. Teleophthalmology can be a very effective model for screening of diabetic retinopathy and can help in greater detection of retinopathy and can help prevent a large number of patients from irreversible vision loss.