New online referral link between optometry and ophthalmology

The ‘Oculo’ platform will create an ongoing clinical record of communications between optometry and ophthalmology, fundamentally underpinning exchanges for shared care.Some optometrists are trying to do better, particularly when it comes to sharing information about patients with chronic eye disease, information that is important to give perspective about the trend of a patient’s clinical course.But in August, Optometry Australia released a policy update about the challenges of using the wrong technologies to transmit patient data. Protecting patient privacy and ensuring data security rain paramount considerations.Specsavers – as well as Luxottica and Bupa Optical – have been working closely with the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) to develop a better technology, designed specifically to support communication for eye care.The result is a new platform called Oculo, which is a shared brainchild of Specsavers’ director of professional services Mr Peter Larsen (who sits on the board of CERA and CERA’s managing director Professor Jonathan Crowston. Professor Crowston is an ophthalmologist and is well known to Specsavers, having been one of the headline speakers at the first three Specsavers Clinical Conferences in Australia. As a clinician, I often get referrals that have little detailed information and arrive with poor quality photocopies of test results. That makes triage difficult and it is not easy to provide early feedback to the referrer who often waits weeks before hearing back. What I really want is a quality image of the optic nerve and retina and, if possible, some earlier images that allow me to determine whether the disease is progressing, Prof. Crowston explained.Mr Larsen added: What is needed to facilitate shared care between our professions is a practical way to work together and to build trust, focusing on what is best from a patient perspective. Efficient communication, in my view, is critical to providing quality shared care. Dr Kate Taylor was recruited to help develop Oculo into a spinoff business for CERA. Dr Taylor started her professional life as an ophthalmology trainee and has subsequently worked around the world in the intersection between business and public health.Oculo will create an ongoing clinical record of communications between optometry and ophthalmology, fundamentally underpinning exchanges for shared care. Eye-care professionals can upload clinical information photos, and scans. That data can be included in referrals or simple requests for opinions. So it can even facilitate mentoring between senior and junior optometrists.Oculo will also help communication with patients and other practitioners, including general practitioners and specialists such as endocrinologists for diabetic patients.Says Dr Taylor: The key to success lies in strengthening existing human connection. We want to take the referral relationships that people have today and put th online and at the same time tighten the feedback loops. We believe that will create opportunities for clinical learning and will improve the continuity of care for patients. Oculo is internet-based, meaning no software needs to be installed. It stores patient information in the cloud, so that it can both be securely encrypted and instantly accessible. It meets the privacy and data security requirents for the storage of medical records in both Australia and New Zealand.Says Mr Larsen: To me, Oculo is ground-breaking. It’s good for optometrists because it saves time lost to paper managent and because you get better engagent in patient care. It’s good for ophthalmologists, because they get better-quality referrals and can really strengthen their working relationships with optometrists. And it’s clearly good for patients because there will be fewer duplications and, even more importantly, fewer gaps in the continuity of care.