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Review
. 2020 Jul;68(7):1328-1338.
doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_1784_20.

Tele-ophthalmology: Need of the hour

Mohita Sharma  1 , Neha Jain  2 , Sridhar Ranganathan  3 , Naman Sharma  4 , Santosh G Honavar  5 , Namrata Sharma  6 , Mahipal S Sachdev  7
Affiliations
Review

Tele-ophthalmology: Need of the hour

Mohita Sharma et al. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

Telemedicine and tele-ophthalmology have been in existence since many years, but have recently gained more importance in the present scenario of pandemic COVID-19. The attitude and perception of the doctors and patients has been changing gradually. Telemedicine has many advantages including providing care in inaccesible areas.In the present scenario, tele-ophthalmology gives an oppurtunity to patient for seeking consultation while also protecting against the contagion. There are many barriers faced by the patients and doctors that have restricted use of this technology in the past. However, with a systematic approach to designing the best suited technology, these barriers can be overcome and user friendly platforms can be created. Furthermore, the demand and use of teleconsulation had increased presently in this area of pandemic. Recent survey conducted by the All India Ophthalmological Society also reveals that many ophthalmologists who have not used tele-ophthalmology in the past are more keen to use it presently. In this article, we have reviewed telemedicine and tele-ophthalmology literature on Google and PubMed to get a holistic idea towards teleconsultation, its advantages, increased importance and prefrence during COVID-19 pandemic and various barriers faced so that the known challenges can be understood, which can pave way for better understanding and future incorporation into practice.

Keywords: Barriers of tele-ophthalmology; pandemic; tele-ophthalmology; telemedicine; telemedicine guidelines.

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Conflict of interest statement

None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Current use of tele-ophthalmology in practice
Figure 2
Figure 2
Interest to incorporate tele-ophthalmology into practice
Figure 3
Figure 3
Interest to try mobile-app based tele-ophthalmology
Figure 4
Figure 4
Use of electronic medical records in practice currently
Figure 5
Figure 5
Respondents willing to use affordable ophthalmology specific EMR
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Woodward MA, Ple-Plakon P, Blachley T, Musch DC, Newman-Casey PA, De Lott LB, et al. Eye care providers' attitude towards tele-ophthalmology. Telemedicine J E Health. 2015;21:271–3. - PMC - PubMed
    1. All India Ophthalmological Society. 2020 Survey on Telemedicine AIOS Teleophthalmology platform Unpublished data