How to Explain the Diabetic Retinopathy Exam to Patients

The IRIS (Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems) team is passionate and dedicated to empowering our clients to end preventable blindness. In fact, ending preventable blindness is our company mission.

At IRIS, we focus on diabetic retinopathy (DR), the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults. DR is preventable if detected early enough to be treated. Primary care providers, home health care professionals, community clinic staff, and staff at residential facilities can all play a role in making sure diabetic patients understand the importance of diabetic retinopathy exams. 

What Is Diabetic Retinopathy?

Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease that occurs when high blood sugar levels cause damage to blood vessels in the retina. The affected blood vessels can swell and leak, or they can close, preventing blood from passing through. Anyone with diabetes is at risk for diabetic retinopathy, including type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. The risk increases the longer an individual has diabetes. 

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the early stages of diabetic retinopathy do not cause noticeable symptoms or vision changes. Individuals may not know they have DR until they develop symptoms such as blurred vision or dark spots. Without treatment, DR will progress and lead to vision loss or blindness.

What Is The Best Way To Ensure Early Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy?

Annual retinal eye exams are an effective way to detect early signs of diabetic retinopathy, often before patients notice any changes to their vision. Regular retinal evaluation is recommended as part of comprehensive diabetic care. Either a dilated pupil exam or a screening using a non-mydriatic fundus camera can help doctors detect the signs of diabetic retinopathy. 

A dilated eye exam is only performed in the office of an eye care professional. Screening with a fundus camera can be performed in multiple health care venues, including primary care offices, clinics, residential facilities, and mobile health services. This allows patients to receive DR screening at the same time as other health services. 

Diabetic Retinopathy Education for Patients

For most patients with diabetes, it’s a matter of when, not if, they will develop retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common complications associated with diabetes, affecting around 33% of people with diabetes. However, patients may not be aware of the correlation between eye disease and diabetes, which is why patient education is imperative. Primary care providers and other health care professionals can increase knowledge about DR screenings by including conversations and information about DR in routine medical exams. 

A 2023 study found that between 23% and 65% of diabetic patients don’t receive annual diabetic eye tests. This was especially true for people who lack health insurance or who don’t have a regular health care provider. Those patients may be less likely to see a doctor regularly to receive diabetes patient education and reminders about the need for diabetes-specific care. 

Other reasons that patients might not be getting the recommended eye exams include: 

• Little to no awareness of how diabetes can affect their vision
• They feel they don’t require a retinal evaluation because their vision is fine
• The guilt associated with failure to control their blood sugar
• Unaware an evaluation can be completed during a regular provider appointment
• Fear of discomfort during their evaluation
• Confusion between a vision evaluation for glasses and a diabetic eye evaluation

Primary care providers and other health care professionals can increase awareness about diabetic retinopathy by discussing DR risk with patients during routine visits. Patient education examples can include printed materials, referrals to organizations that offer support for patients with diabetes, and conversations about recommended diabetes care. 

Working With IRIS To Preserve Your Patient’s Vision

IRIS works to increase access to diabetic retinopathy screenings. We partner with healthcare providers, systems, and organizations to give them the tools to perform DR screenings, eliminating the need for patients to make an additional appointment with an ophthalmologist. 

The IRIS solution syncs to a non-mydriatic fundus camera to capture an image of the patient’s retina, then securely upload the fundus images to the cloud-based grading platform. A licensed eye care physician from the IRIS Reading Center (IRC) evaluates the images to determine a diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy, if any, including the level of severity. The IRIS solution allows providers and patients to implement treatment options before patients reach the point of permanent or total vision loss.

Because the IRIS solution is compatible with most fundus cameras, including mobile cameras, it can be used in home care, residential facilities, screening events, community-based clinics, and primary care offices. 

Using the IRIS solution, health care providers increase access to diabetic teleretinal screening exams. This ensures that more at-risk diabetic individuals get the screenings they need to save their sight. Connect with us to learn more.

 

 

FAQ

What Is Diabetic Retinopathy?

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, diabetic retinopathy is an eye condition that develops when high blood sugar levels damage the blood vessels in the retina. The affected blood vessels may swell and leak. Some vessels may close, which blocks blood flow within the retina. Without treatment, diabetic retinopathy can lead to vision loss or blindness. 

What Happens During a Diabetic Retinopathy Exam?

During a diabetic retinopathy exam, a trained healthcare provider examines the retina for signs of damage to blood vessels. This can be done during an eye exam where the provider dilates the pupils to examine the inner structures of the eye. It can also be done using a specialized camera to capture an image of the eye that a trained eye specialist can review for signs of DR. 

What Are the Current Guidelines and Recommendations for Diabetic Retinopathy Screening and Management?

The American Diabetes Association recommends regular screenings to detect diabetic retinopathy: 

• Type 1 diabetes: Initial screening within five years of diagnosis, then every one to two years if no sign of DR is present 
• Type 2 diabetes: Initial screening at diagnosis, then every one to two years if there is no sign of DR
• People with any type of diabetes who have eye disease: Annual screenings

Medicare covers a diabetic retinopathy screening every year for patients with diabetes.

 

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