ArticleEye (London, England)2013
Using electronic referral with digital imaging between primary and secondary ophthalmic services: a long term prospective analysis of regional service redesign.
Article in Eye (London, England), 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Reducing outpatient wait times through telemedicine: a systematic review and quantitative analysis.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- A Bibliometric Analysis and Visualization of Decision Support Systems for Healthcare Referral Strategies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Improving Access and Reducing the Burden on Public Ophthalmology: Collaborative Telehealth Models Between Ophthalmology and Optometry in Australia.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026Article
- The effectiveness of interventions for optometric referrals into the hospital eye service: A review.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2023Review
- Primary eye health services for older adults as a component of universal health coverage: a scoping review of evidence from high income countries.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2023Article
- A Proposed Framework for Machine Learning-Aided Triage in Public Specialty Ophthalmology Clinics in Hong Kong.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2021Article
- Cataract Surgery Redesign: Meeting Increasing Demand, Training, Audit and Patient-Centered Care.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2021Article
- Accuracy of periocular lesion assessment using telemedicine.BMJ health & care informatics · 2021Article
- A Systematic Review of Current Teleophthalmology Services in New Zealand Compared to the Four Comparable Countries of the United Kingdom, Australia, United States of America (USA) and Canada.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2021Review
- Contribution of a synchronic teleneurology program to decrease the patient number waiting for a first consultation and their waiting time in Chile.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2020Article
- The use of telemedicine to support Brazilian primary care physicians in managing eye conditions: The TeleOftalmo Project.PloS one · 2020Article
- Digital ophthalmology in Scotland: benefits to patient care and education.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2019Article
- A categorisation of problems and solutions to improve patient referrals from primary to specialty care.BMC health services research · 2018Review
- Teleophthalmology in Practice: Lessons Learned from a Pilot Project.The open medical informatics journal · 2017Article
- A comparative study of glaucoma referrals in Southeast Scotland: effect of the new general ophthalmic service contract, Eyecare integration pilot programme and NICE guidelines.BMC ophthalmology · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeDemands on publicly funded ophthalmic services worldwide continue to increase with new treatments, waiting time targets, working time limits, and restricted budgets. These highlight the necessity to develop innovative ways of utilising existing capacity more effectively.
methodA new regional, fully electronic ophthalmic-referral service with digital imaging was trialled using existing information-technology (IT) infrastructure. Following successful pilot study, the service was rolled out regionally. Service delivery data was prospectively collated for all the attendances in the year prior to (2006) and the year following (2008) introduction.
resultsComparing 2006 against 2008, median waiting times reduced (14 vs 4 weeks), and fewer new patients were observed (8714 vs 7462 P<0.0001), with 1359 referrals receiving electronic diagnosis (e-diagnosis). New patient did not arrive (635 vs 503 P<0.0001) and emergencies also reduced (2671 v 1984 P<0.0001). DISCUSSION: Novel use of existing IT infrastructure improves communication between primary and secondary care. This promotes more effective use of limited outpatient capacity by retaining patients with non-progressive, asymptomatic pathology in the community, whilst fast-tracking patients with sight-threatening disease. Resultant significant, sustained improvements in regional service delivery point to a simple model that could easily be adopted by other providers of universal healthcare globally.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.