Practice patterns and responsiveness to simulated common ocular complaints among US ophthalmology centers during the COVID-19 pandemic
JAMA Ophthalmology Sep 16, 2020
Starr MR, Israilevich R, Zhitnitsky M, et al. - Via performing a cross-sectional study of 40 private practices and 20 university centers, randomly selected from 4 regions across the US, researchers sought to describe practice patterns for common ocular complaints during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic among comprehensive ophthalmology practices in the US. Telephone calls were made to each ophthalmology practice office and responses towards 3 clinical scenarios—refraction request, cataract evaluation, and symptoms of a posterior vitreous detachment—were obtained and compared regionally and between private and university centers. Fairly uniform responses to 3 common ocular complaints were obtained across comprehensive ophthalmological practices. Relative to university centers, private practices were more likely to schedule cataract evaluations and patients with posterior vitreous detachments sooner, while all practices were likely to ask about COVID-19 symptoms when scheduling urgent visits. These findings suggest that during the COVID-19 pandemic, most practices were complying with the American Academy of Ophthalmology guidelines for scheduling patients.
-
Exclusive Write-ups & Webinars by KOLs
-
Daily Quiz by specialty
-
Paid Market Research Surveys
-
Case discussions, News & Journals' summaries