TY - JOUR T1 - Danish teleophthalmology platform reduces optometry referrals into the national eye care system JF - BMJ Open Ophthalmology JO - BMJ Open Ophth DO - 10.1136/bmjophth-2020-000671 VL - 6 IS - 1 SP - e000671 AU - Danson Vasanthan Muttuvelu AU - Heidi Buchholt AU - Mads Nygaard AU - Marie Louise Roed Rasmussen AU - Dawn Sim Y1 - 2021/03/01 UR - http://bmjophth.bmj.com/content/6/1/e000671.abstract N2 - Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stratification of follow-up and referral pathways after implementation of a systematic cloud-based electronic-referral teleophthalmological service for optometry-initiated ocular posterior segment disease referrals to the Danish national eye care system.Methods and Analysis A retrospective cohort study was conducted in the period from 1 August 2018 to 31 July 2019. Patients with suspected ocular posterior segment disease reviewed by the telemedical ophthalmology service were included. The service stratified patients into the categories: no need for follow-up, follow-up by optometrist, follow-up by the telemedical service and referral to the national Danish eye care service.Results From a pool of 386 361 customers, 9938 patients were enrolled into this study. 19.5% of all patients were referred to the Danish national eye care system, while 80.5% of the patients in the telemedical service were not, in the period from 1 August 2018 to 31 July 2019. 14.4% of the optometrist referrals did not need any follow-up, while a majority of 66.1% needed some follow-up either by the optometrist themselves or within the telemedical service.Conclusion Optometrist posterior segment disease referrals can be considerably reduced with a risk stratified approach and optimal use of technology. New models can improve and streamline the healthcare system. ER -