Rapoport says telehealth enables diagnosis of common issues, such as a common eye infection or a stye.
She then virtually visits with patients through the FaceTime app. The app securely transmits information, photos and videos. Yuna Rapoport, an ophthalmologist in New York City, uses an app called CaptureProof for telemedicine consultations with patients in the COVID-19 era. FaceTime virtual visits "to hold us over"ĭr. “Patients are always looking to avoid the ‘inconvenience’ of an appointment or get a quick confirmation of self-diagnosis,” Resnick says. Previously, the practice’s doctors occasionally assessed common eye conditions by asking patients to text or email images of their eyes. So far, Resnick says, patients have been receptive to and grateful for the new telehealth option. “We do not view it as a disruptor or threat, but rather as a way to bolster our practice.”
“It is certainly a way to reassure patients that we are there for them, which is most important in these scary times,” Resnick says.Īnd once the current restrictions on office visits are lifted? “We will continue to utilize this platform whenever necessary,” she says. Resnick says telehealth helps doctors determine whether, for example, a patient should be prescribed medicine without an office visit or if an in-person visit is warranted. Now, the practice relies on a telehealth platform called. The pandemic rapidly sped up that process, she says. Susan Resnick, an optometrist who is president and co-managing partner of an eye care practice in the New York City area, says that before the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, her practice was investigating telehealth. Reassuring patients during a global pandemicĭr. “By being able to evaluate these patients from afar, we can minimize the number of in-office visits and decrease overall risk for everyone of coronavirus exposure,” Goldman says. David Goldman, an ophthalmologist in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, says telemedicine lets eye care professionals determine whether a patient is experiencing a medical emergency.įor instance, a patient’s eye irritation might be caused by an easy-to-treat swollen eyelid, meaning it’s not an emergency. SEE RELATED: Should I wait to have eye surgery until after COVID-19? How eye doctors are using virtual visitsĭr. Virtual visits allow an eye doctor to care for patients, often in real time, by videoconference, computer, smartphone or telephone. The HPI further advised optometrists to take appropriate measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19.Īs a result of these actions and recommendations, until the spread of COVID-19 is contained, many eye care professionals have turned to telehealth to diagnose eye issues without the need for in-office visits - and without potentially exposing people to coronavirus. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that month to postpone all routine eye care visits. On March 24, 2020, the American Optometric Association’s Health Policy Institute (HPI) released a statement advising optometrists to be aware of guidance issued by the U.S. Parke II, MD, on reopening ophthalmology care, which stated that, "the decisions to reopen more normal practice will be local and regional.based on local and state governments, on public health authorities interpreting local patterns of disease, on testing availability, on institutional policies and ultimately on individual ophthalmologists."
The following month, AAO released a follow-up message from Academy CEO, David W. On March 18, 2020, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) issued a practice guidance document that urged all ophthalmologists to immediately "cease providing any treatment other than urgent or emergent care." What’s driving the shift to telehealth? Efforts to control the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Yes, you may be able to FaceTime with your eye doctor to find out if that bump on your eye is a stye and what you can do to treat it at home. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some eye doctors are seeing patients via virtual "eye exams" while their offices are limited for routine eye care.
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