Specifications

72 III For Providers
The EyePACS Handbook: Tools for Program Success
III FOR PROVIDERS
Importance of Physician Engagement
Providers are an essential element of the EyePACS telemedicine program. In most
clinics, diabetes patients are referred for screenings by the doctors who see them in the
course of their regular diabetes management program. In order to ensure that clinic
providers are making these referrals for patients who need them, doctors need to know
that a clinic is committed to the program, understand how the program works, and be
aware of its benefits for patients.
Success with Screening
The aim of the diabetic retinopathy screening initiative is to improve access to
recommended screening for patients with diabetes in community health centers, public
hospital clinics, and rural health centers in California by supporting the integration of
remote screening services into primary care settings. The ultimate goal is to prevent
diabetes-related vision loss and blindness.
In 2005, the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) supported a pilot initiative
through the California Telemedicine and eHealth Center and the UC Berkeley School of
Optometry (UCB) to develop the Eye Picture Archiving and Communication System
(EyePACS), an open-source Web-based software program for capturing and delivering
retinal images. The CHCF pilot project implemented this technology in 13 safety-net
clinics in the Central Valley. In addition to the Central Valley clinics, EyePACS Request
for Applications: Expanding Diabetic Retinopathy Screening has been used by 25 other
organizations in California and Mexico. The program has been sustained and cameras
remain in active use in the clinics.
Clinics have demonstrated they are able to successfully integrate retinopathy screening
into their primary care workflow and have demonstrated patient, provider, and
specialist acceptance with high levels of satisfaction. Participating clinics have seen
considerable improvements in diabetic retinopathy screening rates and more timely
referrals to specialists for treatment. In addition, clinics have found the retinal images
are powerful tools to engage patients with diabetes in making behavior changes to
improve the management of their diabetes. A six-minute video describing the program
can be seen at: http://www.chcf.org/topics/chronicdisease/index.cfm?itemID=133378.
The CHCF project to prevent diabetes-related blindness through diabetic retinopathy
screening began expansion to clinics throughout the state of California in December
2007, with a goal of serving 100 clinics and 100,000 patients. Currently, the EyePACS
system is being used in 50 clinics (80 sites) in California. The referral rate for treatment
has been consistent throughout the program – approximately 15% of all patients
receiving the DR screening are referred to a specialist.