Benefits of remote screening
Patients with type 2 diabetes should be screened annually for the presence or progression of diabetic retinopathy. However, in the United States, less than half of all diabetics are actually screened annually, and the problem is likely to worsen due to the exponential increase in the incidence of this disease, projected to be about 33% of the US population by 2050.
Telematics can make an important contribution in the fight against this serious health emergency by screening with NMDSRI (Nonmydriatic Digital Stereoscopic Retinal Imaging), instead of the traditional eye fundus examination with pupil dilation.
Already in a 2006 study by Ahmed et al. published in Diabetes Care, the NMDSRI had demonstrated sensitivity of 98% and specificity of 100% in the presence of diabetic retinopathy. Given the good reliability of the NMDSRI, a telematic screening strategy for adults with diabetes remained to be identified.
This issue was addressed in a study by Mansberger and his research team, published in  JAMA Ophthalmology of May 2015. The researchers reported positive long-term results when general practitioners used telemedicine for diabetic retinopathy screening. The first important aspect was, in fact, the increase in the number of visits, as doctors could carry out the checks with non-diabetic cameras, which were able to capture retinal images without pupil dilation, send the same images for possible specialist assessment at a distance and monitor the worsening of the disease over time.
These advantages proved to be particularly important in rural areas and were accompanied by a significant reduction in costs, (40 $ of the telescreening vs. 200 $ of the full examination) and time (15 minutes for the non-mydriatic photo vs. about 2 hours for the mydriasis examination).
For more information, please read thefull article on Jamanetwork
Dr. Carmelo Chines
Direttore responsabile
English 
Italian