Solving the Lowest Scoring Quality Measure by Providing Diabetic Eye Exams in Primary Care

Tuesday, September 26, 2017 | 12:00 pm -1:00 pm CT

Low quality scores for the Diabetic Eye Exam are frustrating medical groups across the country. One of the biggest barriers to compliance is access – diabetic patients are asked to visit an eye care provider for an annual diabetic retinal exam, but very few people follow through. Leading health systems are turning to new technology and processes to improve compliance and detect eye disease early.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of adult blindness and the second most costly medical treatment behind only oncology. When less than one half of the 30 million people with diabetes receives their annual eye exam, there is a serious risk to this vulnerable population.

Dr. Khalifa, Chief of Ophthalmology at Grady Health System, was aware of how detrimental the effects of failing to catch this disease could be as he repeatedly treated patients in the ER who had just gone blind from diabetic retinopathy. His goal was to identify, treat and stop progression of diabetic retinal disease early, in the most efficient and effective way for more than 11,000 Grady patients who were unexamined annually.

Serving a population of more than 20,000 diabetic patients, Dr. Daghestani saw a similar need. His medical group faced low quality scores even after multiple attempts to improve compliance. As a leader in quality outcomes, Austin Regional Clinic set forth to remove barriers and close gaps in patient care.

In this webinar, you will hear the unique stories of both Austin Regional Clinic and Grady Health System. Both organizations implemented a diabetic retinal exam solution for primary care that integrated with their unique processes, workflows and the EHR, making patient identification, examination, billing and treatment more effective.

During this webinar, you’ll learn:

  • How two health systems operationalized a scalable diabetic retinal program in primary care
  • How you can implement a similar program and bring retinal exams to patients at their primary point of care, improving HEDIS compliance
  • The effect of the IRIS-EHR integration on workflow improvement that enhances patient identification, examination, diagnosis and reimbursement
  • What decision criteria should be used to evaluate success and how to champion the program within your health system

Panelists:

Yousuf M. Khalifa, MDChief of Service of Ophthalmology,Grady Hospital.png