Teleophthalmology in Practice: Lessons Learned from a Pilot Project

Abstract

Introduction: Ophthalmology is a medical specialty which may benefit from using telemedicine and teleophthalmology services. Such services are significantly important in the poor, remote, and impassable geographical areas, where there is no access to the ophthalmology services and ophthalmologists. This study aimed to design and implement a teleophthalmology system using the method of store-and-forward. Methods: The study was conducted in 2015 and consisted of two main phases. The first phase was based requirement analysis, and in the second phase, after designing the prototype, an initial usability testing was undertaken in a teaching hospital. The participants of the study were 10 optometrists and 10 ophthalmologists (cornea specialists). For each phase of the research, a questionnaire was used to collect data, and the collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: In this study, users’ requirements were initially investigated. Then, the teleophthalmology system was designed based on the literature review and the results derived from the requirements’ analysis. Finally, usability testing showed that the users were relatively satisfied with the system. Conclusion: According to the results, it can be concluded that the teleophthalmology technology can be used in the country by optometrists and ophthalmologists to improve eye health care services and to prevent the prevalence of curable eye diseases.