Why Teleretinal Imaging is at Telemedicine’s Forefront of Innovation

digital retinal imaging

Our world has seen a lot of change in the past decade. 

With robots passively vacuuming, billionaires breaking the atmosphere for fun, and gardens growing in basements, it feels a lot like we are heading straight towards the space age. 

And the field of medicine has no shortage of awe-inducing technological advances, particularly the ability to provide medical services virtually. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the hand of various already in-the-works telemedicine practices, resulting in over 76% of US hospitals using telemedicine in some capacity already. The reasons behind this growth are straightforward: telemedicine is economic, efficient, effective, and only growing.

In the field of vision, teleretinal imaging is one of the most exciting and innovative solutions in telemedicine available. It harnesses the power of both the internet and incredibly detailed imaging capabilities to assist in uncovering diseases like diabetic retinopathy. Those with diabetes can develop diabetic retinopathy, a disease caused by leaking blood vessels in the retina that can lead to blindness if left untreated. 

Should your practice use teleretinal imaging as a way to identify retinal diseases? Below are some of the ways this innovative imaging system can help you provide the best care for your patients.

 

Teleretinal Imaging Promotes Earlier Detection

In most cases, the sooner a health concern is identified, the more time there is to make a treatment plan, and the more likely that plan is to be optimally effective for both patients and doctors. 

IRIS comprehensive diagnostic platform is composed of an innovative 5-step solution, drastically increasing accessibility to diabetic eye exams. Here’s more: 

  1. Capture retinal images
  2. Upload images to the secure, cloud-based  platform  image enhancement software is automatically applied  to all fundus images
  3. Board – certified eye care providers remotely diagnose images. Images and diagnoses are delivered back into your EHR for easy patient referral.

When specifically looking at capturing the best quality fundus image possible, image quality is vital when trying to detect diseases early on, like diabetic retinopathy.

Furthermore, using a teleretinal imaging solution increases diabetic retinal exam compliance for patients and healthcare providers alike. With the increased accessibility of teleretinal imaging services, patients have more convenient places to receive their annual diabetic eye exams.  The ease of getting an eye exam at a  routine check-up increases the frequency of patient exams, which increases the possibility of early detection of diabetic retinopathy.

 

Teleretinal Imaging Creates a Larger Network of Communication

Many teleretinal imaging solutions like IRIS have services that connect your practice with physicians who examine and diagnose images. The IRIS Reading Center (IRC) gives you access to a leading telemedicine physician group. Not to mention, utilizing the IRC network enables you to confidently provide a diagnostic diabetic eye exam to your patients at the point of care. 

Teleretinal Imaging Can Help You Achieve Quick, Accurate Diagnoses

Teleretinal imaging solutions, particularly technology like IRIS, leverage the power of fundus cameras to take pictures of the back of the eye (also known as your retina). In fact, IRIS historically has the highest exam success rate in the industry through delivering the highest-quality retinal images on the market. In fact, compared to normal teleretinal imaging technology, which has a gradability of about 80-85%, IRIS-enhanced images have an average gradability of 92-95%. The better the image quality, the more likely a doctor will be able to see and diagnose an issue.

 

Teleretinal Imaging Can Increase Your Practice’s Offerings and Revenue

With the ability to diagnose more diseases, your practice will improve overall quality of care and patient health, which leads to increased patient satisfaction rates. Not to mention, this also ultimately creates a new revenue stream and access to other significant financial benefits related to HEDIS and HCC/RAF

 

Find out how much more revenue you could be bringing in with IRIS’s ROI calculator.

 

IRIS in Action: Gateway Medical Associates

Gateway Medical Associates is an example of how much telemedicine, particularly teleretinal imaging technology, can change a practice and its ability to care for its patients. Gateway Medical is a large, physician-owned practice that was struggling to get its patients to comply in quality programs to take preventative measures against the disease. With over 7,000 diabetic patients, Gateway was finding it exceedingly difficult to get these individuals to visit an eye specialist regularly for their annual diabetic eye exam. 

Ultimately, the practice found the solution to their problem with IRIS: an innovative technology that seamlessly integrates into Gateway’s systems and provides the capability for medical staff to perform eye exams during check-ups and get reliable diagnoses quickly. This made it easy for providers to make sure that patients were getting the eye care they needed, and it made it much easier for the patients to comply with doctor-recommended programs since they could get the treatment they needed all in one place.

 

Looking Beyond into the Future of Telemedicine 

The ever-expanding, innovating, and exciting field of telemedicine has many benefits. Teleretinal imaging is an easy and effective way for doctors to take advantage of telemedicine to catch preventable sight-threatening illnesses.

In particular, IRIS’s unparalleled technology and capability to remotely diagnose diabetic retinopathy and other eye diseases is one of the most advanced telemedicine solutions on the market today. It can bring many benefits to your practice and your patients.

 

Interested in how IRIS could improve your practice? Use our ROI calculator and find out, or sign up for a demo to see our technology in action. 

FAQs

  • How is teleretinal imaging used? 
    • Teleretinal imaging helps improve the overall patient experience. For example, instead of a patient having to pay another co-pay, take another day off of work, and/or find someone to drive them, they can now get their eyes screened at their primary care provider’s office. It is then sent to the cloud (aka Telehealth) to be reviewed to find pathology.

Get started with IRIS today.

Want to know if IRIS is right for you? Schedule a one-on-one consultation with our team. We’re here to help.