Lay summary
Globally, in 2021, the annual cost of potential productivity losses due to blindness and moderate and severe vision impairment was $410.7 billion (0.3% of GDP). Equitable eye care remains challenging in many countries, especially in New Zealand. Elective surgeries and standard eye care came to a complete standstill during COVID19. Specialist health departments are experiencing compounded patient backlog. Unnecessary and inaccurate referrals from primary care providers are further clogging the healthcare system.
Teleophthalmology has the potential to reduce unnecessary and inaccurate referrals between community optometry/GP practices and hospital eye services. However, little is known on the acceptability, facilitators, and barriers of the implementations of these technologies in real life.
Our research will explore the global use case of teleophthalmology, the burden of inequitable access in New Zealand, assess the challenges in access to eye care (both primary and tertiary scenarios), and the provision of basic eye care in the community.