Overview

The significance of our eyes is well-known. The best gift we are blessed to have received need utmost care and best attention. However, until now, not all were as fortunate to have had the care that is required to keep your eyes healthy, especially our people residing in rural areas.

Thanks to technology that in the form of Teleophthalmology, this problem is addressed to a great extent in the rural sectors. It has indeed bridged the gap between remote villages and expert eye specialists.

How? Let’s take a look.

Teleophthalmology: A Futuristic Approach to Eye Health

Everyone of us would like to take care of our eyes in the best possible way, including people living in remotest of villages across India. While this was a distant dream some years ago, Teleophthalmology care has made it a reality.

Local eye specialists can now examine your eyes and share your reports with an expert ophthalmologist, sitting miles away from you. This is what Teleophthalmology has been able to do with the support of advanced technology communication equipments.  Your diagnosis is immediately studied by experts and further treatment advice is immediately conveyed.

 This has also prompted leading eye hospitals in the urban areas to conduct eye check camps for people in the rural sectors by travelling through well-equipped Mobile Medical Units.

How does this work?

Teleophthalmology in India has been nothing short of a revelation. Eye camps conducted by hospitals have proved to be very beneficial for many people living in villages.

A camp co-ordinator on behalf of the hospital that is planning for an eye works as a co-ordinator between the village heads and the base hospital. Adequate publicity regarding the camp is made a day or two in advance by issuing brochures/ pamphlets.

On the day of the camp, the following process unfolds.

• Patient registration
• Vision check
• Refraction
• Slit Lamp examination
• Eye Pressure check
• Fundus Examination
• Local doctor’s opinion
• Patient counselling

At the end of the camp, the local eye doctor discusses the findings of the camp with the patients and family members. Any patient requiring further consultation is immediately put on to an expert ophthalmologist via video conferencing. The expert then analyses the patient’s case and shares his opinion.

Teleophthalmology – The future of eyecare is here?

There can be no better and proven example than our rural sectors to understand, why is Teleophthalmology care important.

Renowned ophthalmologists explain that Teleophthalmology in primary care comes in with significant advantages and that too when it is really needed, like:

• Reaches high-quality eye care to remote areas where access was either limited or nil.
• Very effective especially during a medical emergency involving the eyes.
• Saves travel time and cost to a nearby eye hospital unless really required
• Avoids unnecessary referrals
• Creates an awareness about eye hygiene and health
• Avoids being tagged along with patients with infected eyes.
• Avoids contagious eye infections
• Facilitates a second opinion in case the patient desires
  
  

Conclusion

Teleophthalmology is rapidly gaining trust in rural areas, offering a beacon of hope for healthy vision. It’s a testament to how technology can empower communities. If you’d like to learn more about this eye-opening service, please feel free to connect with Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation, an institution committed to ensuring a healthy vision for India.