Setting up a virtual clinic pathways for Minor Ops in a small peripheral eye service in London
Author: Mohammad Dehabadi
Base Hospital / Institution: Moorfields Eye Hospital at Croydon
Rapid fire oral presentation
Abstract ID: 24-327
Purpose
Minor ops constitute a large proportion of Adnexal referrals received at our peripheral unit in South London. In our traditional face-to-face, one-stop minor operations clinics, there was a 15.8% DNA rate, with only 51.7% of patients requiring surgical intervention on the day of attendance. Patients were seen by a specialist optometrist, or a consultant who then carried out the procedure if requierd. We set out to improve the efficiency of the service using a virtual pathway.
Methods
All referrals for minor operations (periocluar skin lesions, and chalazia) were triaged to the virtual clinic pathway. Patients were asked to complete and return a 2 page questionnaire, and photographs of their lid lesions by email 1-2 weeks before their virtual appointment. A consultant carried out the video appointment with the patient having reviewed their photographs and questionnaire, to decide the best course of action. Patient were either discharged, brought in for face-to-face review, or booked into a minor operations list from the video clinic.
Results
125 patients have now been seen via the virtual pathway. 85.5% of patients return the questionnaire, and 82.2% email photographs successfully. The video appointments have a 1.5% DNA rate, and the face-to-face minor op appointment a 5.5% DNA rate. 35.5% of patients are discharged following video assessment. 79.8% of patients referred from video to the minor op clinic have a surgical procedure carried out, up from 51.7%. The patient satisfaction score for the service has remained unchanged at 98%. All the minor procedures are carried out by a trained specialist nurse, or a trained optometrist.
Conclusion
This simple to set up pathway has significantly reduced the DNA rate, and increased the positive surgery rate of our Minor Ops Service, making it more likely that patients attending a face to face appointment go on to have surgery. Over a third of patients can be safely discharged with advice following a video review only.
This system is easy to replicate with minimal requirement for specialist software or equipment.
Additional Authors
| First name | Last name | Base Hospital / Institution |
|---|---|---|
| Jake | Richards | Moorfields Eye Hospital at Croydon |
