Accelerating Virtual Care

Kellogg’s long-standing commitment to expanding access to eye care through e-health proved prescient during the COVID-19 pandemic. To balance the needs of patient care while minimizing potential exposure to the virus, new treatment models and protocols needed to be implemented quickly, says Jennifer Weizer, M.D., ophthalmology professor and Kellogg Safety Committee Chair.

While some patient care may be provided virtually, Kellogg researchers have found that some critical data, (e.g., images of the retina or assessments of the cornea) must be collected in-person. Therefore, our virtual care team came up with new ways to collect the patient data they needed while minimizing contact between patients and care providers.

Drive-up Services

“During the initial stages of COVID-19, we began with drive-up intraocular eye pressure (IOP) checks at the Kellogg Eye Center for patients with such conditions as glaucoma, which require ongoing monitoring and management,” Dr. Weizer says. A follow-up eHealth visit, or virtual visit, was then scheduled with the doctor to discuss the patient’s condition.

“We continue to provide this drive-up service for at-risk patients or those who don’t feel comfortable coming into the center or our community office locations,” she says. When the patient drives up to the clinic site, a technician suited up in personal protective equipment uses a handheld instrument to measure the patient’s IOP.

“This is a very efficient and focused way for us to test patients in as safe a way as possible,” Dr. Weizer says. “We found that patients like the convenience and safety aspects of a quick check.”

A large quality assessment analysis of the project led by Mia Woodward, M.D., M.S., co-director and Rebecca Wu, M.D., operational director of the program, found that patients greatly appreciate the new system. Dr. Woodward noted that “patients felt that fewer person-to-person interactions made for a safer appointment.”

Virtual Plus

As COVID-19 took hold, it became clear that some patients in need of more extensive testing still feared coming into the clinics, says Shahzad Mian, M.D., Vice Chair for Clinical Sciences and Learning at Kellogg. “We quickly realized the need to have more options for ophthalmology patients with severe conditions. For these patients, we implemented the Virtual Plus program,” he says. The program enables a patient in need of ancillary testing or treatment for conditions such as glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetes to quickly and directly get needed services, eliminating waiting periods and the need to move from one room to another. After testing is complete, the patient schedules a virtual visit with a physician to discuss the results. “With Virtual Plus, patients can see us individually without crowding the waiting room, which is important from a safety perspective,” says Dr. Mian. “We want to provide care at a level equivalent to pre-COVID-19, without patients having safety concerns.

“Our goal is to provide our community with quality M.D., operational director of the program, found that patients services as we expand in all locations,” he says. In addition greatly appreciate the new system. Dr. Woodward noted that to the main Wall St. facility, Virtual Plus is currently available “patients felt that fewer person-to-person interactions made for at the Canton, Northville and Huron River Drive locations. a safer appointment.”