Telemedicine in ophthalmology. Part 1. “Common teleophthalmology”

Abstract

Telemedicine (TM) is one of the fastest growing segments of healthcare and medical business in the world. In a broad sense, TM means the use of the most modern data technologies in distant medical care practice. Teleophthalmology (TO) is an important area of TM, it includes several priorities, main of which being remote diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with ophthalmic diseases, in particular, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. The development of TO is conditioned by the need for high-tech specialized medical care for people in remote regions. On the path of introducing TO worldwide and in Russia, a huge number of obstacles exists: obtaining high-quality fundus images, training specialists to work in the TM area, creation of standards for image analysis and transmission, TM implementation into the legal field, ensuring of stable financing, creating positive patients and doctors attitude towards TO. In this part, we provide an overview of TO development trends, as well as ways to solve the problems standing in its way.