AllView Healthcare are set to roll out nationwide Ophthalmology Services in 2023

DermView Dermatology is rebranding to AllView Healthcare and they are set to roll out nationwide Ophthalmology Services in 2023 under their new umbrella name.

Ophthalmology Proof of Concept

Having recently completed a successful Ophthalmology “Proof of Concept” (POC) with the Mater Hospital and the HSE, AllView Healthcare (formerly DermView) are now starting to finalise and roll out a full pilot scheme across both HSE hospitals and high street opticians.

The initial Pilot Scheme will serve to address patients who are urgently requiring an opinion from a Consultant Ophthalmologist, and this will represent between 300–500 people taking place in both community settings and hospitals.

The Pilot will demonstrate that, not only will the Ophthalmology technology and Service delivered by AllView function as envisioned, it will also far exceed the performance of the current model of care. Thus, alleviating the need for patients to attend secondary care and reduce waiting times for urgent appointments and creating a more functional care pathway for both practitioners and patients.

Today, ophthalmology has become a highly specialised field with advanced diagnostic and treatment technologies.

The most up to date technology and business solutions combined with a skilled staff and fine-tuned processes add to the efficiency of the services that AllView are offering.

AllView have developed an integrated solution with IT connectivity that will be available to both high street opticians and hospitals. This service will facilitate opticians with the capacity to directly send full patient OCT images and medical notes from the high street to the Hospital consultant allowing the Consultant to both reply and diagnose and/ or cross confer with another Consultant to advise as required. This new model and technology can wholly integrate ophthalmology services across Ireland.

Sláintecare model and AllView Healthcare

AllView is a perfect example of what fits in to the Sláintecare Model set forward by the Department of Health and HSE. Sláintecare aims to provide new models of how we deliver healthcare in Ireland, thus building towards equal access to services for every citizen based on patient need and not their ability to pay. However Sláintecare has not rolled out fast enough to keep pace with the Ophthalmology demand, so this is where AllView Healthcare can bridge the gap with their new model of care which adopts digital technology to deliver an essential integrated ophthalmology care solution.

DriOCT Triton uses swept-source technology to allow visualization into the deepest layers of the eye – even through cataracts, haemorrhages, gas bubbles and other media opacities, making it possible for more patients to be imaged.
The fast 100 kHz scanning speed and invisible scan beam rapidly capture detailed images, resulting in fewer motion artefacts and stunning image quality. Decrease chair time and improve your clinical workflow with fewer rescans and multimodal imaging including, OCT, true-color fundus photography, FA1 and FAF1.

The key to significant change in the current Healthcare model is to collaborate with organisations who have proven success in eradicating and improving patient wait times and overall experience.

AllView have access to a cache of skilled Ophthalmology professionals that provide an ophthalmology patient centred approach with timely diagnosis and treatment.

AllView Healthcare aims to provide locations throughout Ireland, where the Ophthalmology patient (public or private) will be seen by their Optometrist or Ophthalmology Nurses. AllView Healthcare strive to optimise patient care and their drive as a company is to facilitate patients being seen as quickly as possible, putting patients first and delivering the Sláintecare vision of providing the right care, in the right place, at the right time will in turn reduce referrals to hospitals and is absolute win for both patients and Hospitals.

Hospitals and new technology

Tele-Medicine is now used globally and is in practice across a great deal more medical specialities. “The Irish Healthcare System is slower to embrace new technology, and the move over to a change in practice following on from Covid-19 is progressing at a slower pace than how other countries are currently progressing,” says Eoin O’Reilly (CEO and Co-Founder of AllView).

AllView are working closely with the HSE who are hugely supportive of such a platform to link both the high street opticians and the Hospitals directly. “Ophthalmology public services are at breaking point due to an Increasing aging population, the impact of the pandemic and the decrease in trained ophthalmologists globally, delays in access to care can be detrimental to your sight and can result in irreversible sight loss for conditions such as age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma,” says Lorraine Pattison (Ophthalmology Business Development Manager – AllView Healthcare).

Patient care pathway

Patient care is AllView Healthcare’s first priority and keeping patients out of Hospitals is key, Currently GP’s keep the vast amount of patients out of the hospitals, and they are a crucial resource in aiding the hospitals to keep patient referrals and waiting lists to a minimum.

However, for Ophthalmology, If Hospital Consultants have as much information from the outset on the patient’s ailment this will crucially prevent patients being unnecessarily referred, therefore, it is the high street optician who can ultimately play a huge part in keeping patients off Hospital Waiting Lists, if they can send the Consultant the entire patient OCT file and their findings, then the Consultant can rapidly return a diagnosis and advise further care if needed.

Conclusion

The initial “Proof of Concept” POC data showed a 76 per cent rate of patients not required to attend the Hospital for a diagnosis, and for the Pilot AllView are adding in a Visual Field and Wide Field machine expecting to bring this diagnosis percentage into the high 90’s.

So, with AllView Healthcare’s systems they are keeping patients local and out of Hospitals for a more streamlined care pathway and ultimately those who require urgent or onward care are fast- tracked and treated in a timely fashion.

Early intervention will be key for these people, says Peter Monahan COO AllView Healthcare.

This article was first published in Irish Medical Times. You can read the original article here.