Ophthalmology has been a part of the industry wide shift to telemedicine brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology has suggested four ways for ophthalmologists to make the most of telemedicine:
1. Use telemedicine to triage patient complaints. Set aside time every week for patients to meet with you virtually, and discuss questions and concerns.
2. Provide ophthalmic screening for eye diseases through telemedicine to better connect with the community.
3. Use telemedicine to replace the in-person aspect of patient care. After patients come into the office for testing, meet with them virtually to discuss results and next steps instead of making patients travel back to the office.
4. Use telemedicine to loop in patient family members, doing family calls to inform multiple people of surgical and treatment plans.