Eyecare providers are being urged to register with KeepSight, a new national diabetes eye screening program designed to protect the vision of the 1.3 million Australians living with the disease.
Ahead of a large-scale consumer awareness campaign, Vision 2020 Australia, Diabetes Australia and Specsavers have all encouraged optometrists to subscribe to the program, which will remind patients enrolled on the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) to schedule eye examinations.
KeepSight has been initially funded via a five-year annual commitment of $1 million from Specsavers and a $1 million Australian government grant. Pharmaceutical company Bayer is also providing some funding towards the initiative.
The program will aim to reach the 600,000 diabetic Australians who currently skip their recommended regular eye checks.
For practitioners, registration is expected to take fewer than 60 seconds, and requires an Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency number for authentication. Once enrolled, new or existing patients can be added to the KeepSight portal and, with their consent, have their examination recorded to ensure they receive regular notices.
KeepSight uses an established cloud-based digital platform, however, eyecare providers who do not use the technology can register on the KeepSight website.
The program is being led by Diabetes Australia and Vision 2020 Australia.
