Telehealth Optometry

04/02/2019

TeleOptometry and telehealth is rapidly coming to the market in many forms. Frank Giammanco from VisionCareProductNews said it best:

“Pushing back against tele-optometry will probably be as effective as trying to keep the ocean from reaching the shore, especially as tele-medicine in general proliferates. Rather than rail against the new concept, the optical industry would be far better served if some brave souls in the community actually took a look at it, participated in it, and even find ways to improve it.”

Refraction, once dominated by a century-old technology, is now being altered by new, disruptive options that vary in format and approach. Some use a smartphone and/or an Internet app; others work with practitioners located at other sites. While several of these alternatives seem ill-fated at worst o...

03/25/2019

Telehealth delivery of care will continue to expand. Great telehealth for primary care article in Review of Optometric Business. PCPs will increasingly be using telehealth for access to those in rural communities or who otherwise lack access to care. Dr Winston Liaw from University of Houston College of Medicine will admit 30 medical students in the inaugural class of 2020.

Article quotes: "Liaw said examining perceptions and value of telehealth in primary care is essential to the mission of the UH College of Medicine"
"“We hope this is a wake up call for our healthcare system where we will embrace the access benefit of telehealth and balance it with coordinated care,” said Liaw."

https://reviewob.com/why-telehealth-could-contribute-to-fragmentation-of-care/?utm_campaign=Content/%20Highlight&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Content%20Highlight&utm_content=Why%20Telehealth%20Could%20Contribute%20to%20Fragmentation%20of%20Care&utm_term=3.25

03/23/2019

Optometry is and will continue to go through a revolution of telehealth advances. Mark De Leon published an insightful article in Review of Optometry (link below). Google purchased DeepMind, an AI firm that is looking at ways to analyze OCT and retinal imagery for hospital/providers/patients. Lots of involvement and change coming. Final quote of article: "Dr. Geffen agrees with this call to action. “Instead of spending our time complaining about this competitive environment, we need to take what is good and enhance it,” he says."

https://www.reviewofoptometry.com/article/will-remote-refraction-tarnish-telemedicine

03/22/2019

DigitalOptometrics now installed in 37 locations. 35 spread out in NY, NJ, MN, IL, and WI, 2 in Canada. Two dozen more sites installed soon. In private practice, opticals, and commercial. Stop by our booth at Vision Expo East this weekend!

03/19/2019

Telehealth in Eye Care...Opternative, Smart Labs, 1800 among others are part of a group called "Americans For Healthcare Innovation". They are battling states for the right to provide online vision tests and issue prescriptions for eyeglasses and contacts. The article lists 12 states that prohibit telehealth eye exams (as of March 2, 2018): "Georgia is one of 12 states that currently prohibit the use of telehealth or telemedicine in eye exams. The others are Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina, West Virginia and the District of Columbia."

Eye care providers will continue to see a public, business, and legal push for online eye care. The public will have a difficult time understanding what are vision screening tests, refractive tests, comprehensive eye exams, and medical care.

Advocates for ocular telehealth are gearing up for a battle in at least 12 states where the digital health technology is prohibited.

03/13/2019

10 IDEAS for Applications of DigitalOptometrics Optometrists
1. Spouse serving 3 years in overseas military assignment and you can still see USA patients
2. Health disabilities which make it difficult to be in office, but now you can work from home (paralysis, hand/finger amputations/injuries, broken leg, colitis, fibromyalgia, and many others).
3. You live in Wisconsin and like to spend 4 months in Florida every winter and continue seeing patients in Wisconsin remotely.
4. You have a growing practice, hired an associate OD who is not always busy so they can see remote patients in those gaps (saves you not paying them in down times because they would be paid by DigitalOptometrics).
5. You open a satellite office, but do not want to hire an OD full time. Remote ODs can see your patients in the Satellite office every day of the week and you only pay for DigitalOptometric services when patients are seen.
6. You have an unused 2nd or 3rd exam lane. You see patients all day in 1-2 lanes and put in a DigitalOptometrics lane and remote ODs see more patients who still buy products from your office. Remote ODs also refer patients back to you for medical exams.
7. You have a specialty practice (glaucoma, vision therapy, dry eye clinic) operating near a DigitalOptometrics optical/clinic and are listed as a referral optometrist for your specialty in the DigitalOptometrics exam software so remote ODs send patients your way for medical evaluations and specialty care.
8. You are ambitious and want to open several clinics because you have a sound business model. With DigitalOptometrics you can open clinics around the country and have optometrists working for you remotely, right away. You pay $45 to DigitalOptometrics for the OD/Ophth tech only when a patient is seen ($60 for a contact lens exam).
9. You work a part time job and want extra part time or fill in work so you see patients remotely with DigitalOptometrics 1-2 days per week, or 1-2 days per month starting at $500 per day.
10. You moved to Virginia but all of your family/friend network is in California where you grew up. So you use DigitalOptometrics in your own practice while you spend 6 months back in California with family. You continue to see your own patients remotely from across the country and this allows you to spend significant time in both places.

Many, many more options for creative applications of DigitalOptometrics career options for optometry.

For more information on installing a DigitalOptometrics exam lane or becoming a remote optometrist contact cfellows@digitaloptometrics.com

03/12/2019

DigitalOptometrics has a growing need in New York for remote optometrists. Work from anywhere, but licensure in NY is required. Cost is $377 + $60 for DPA. Form found on this link and needs to be notarized:http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/optom/opt1.pdf
$500 per day once trained on exam software (2-3 sessions). Email cfellows@digitaloptometrics.com with questions. Remote doctors practicing telehealth optometry will be needed in every state soon.

03/09/2019

Telehealth or Telemedicine is gaining more attention and traction within Optometry. Teleoptometry devices and platforms are continuing to disrupt a long history of refractions and eye exams. I found an interesting blog by Leonard Press, OD (see link below from 2017). The options are growing and it is fascinating to observe and consider the options these disruptive technologies will add to the optometric landscape.

When is it time for the old to embrace the young? It is an opportune time to address that question due to controversies in Optometry that have arisen regarding the use of Telemedicine. Speaking of…

09/09/2018

DigitalOptometrics now has legal clearance for remote doctor telehealth exams in AL, AZ, CA, CT, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, MD, MN, MS, NE, NV, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, SC, TX, and VT.
There are now 14 operating locations with DigitalOptometrics technology and piloting programs that represent thousands of additional offices (chains and independents). Telehealth optometry is coming to the market rapidly.

08/04/2018

Telehealth in Optometry is a top emerging trend.

By ROB Editors August 1, 2018 A special presentation, Defining the Future of Optometry, was offered at Optometry’s Meeting in Denver in June. The talk, which featured ROB Professional Editor Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD, Kristen S. O’Brien, OD, Jason Ortman, OD, and Mary Anne Murphy, OD, explored the ...

08/03/2018

Telehealth in optometry will continue to emerge and grow. Please share methods, insurance coding, and other practices to help each other become familiar with how to effectively use telehealth procedures in the care of patients.

What you should know about telehealth in optometry.

06/27/2018

Telemedicine continuing to be a part of optometric discussions: From Review of Optometry...http://reviewob.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/6-13-18futurepdf.pdf
"Recognize Telemedicine as a Reality
Expand your understanding of the implications of online
medical services: Expand access to care and further doctor/patient relationship. Apply big data analysis and artificial intelligence to diagnose and treat eye conditions. Work to fully benefit your patients’ health as part of
their multi-discipline wellness team. Meet cost efficiencies demanded by health care reform."