Implementation of a nurse-delivered intravitreal injection service

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to introduce nurse-delivered intravitreal injections to increase medical retina treatment capacity.MethodsIndemnity, clinical governance, training, planning, and implementation issues were addressed. The outcome measures were patient safety, patient experience, and clinic capacity.ResultsNo serious vision-threatening complications were recorded in a consecutive series of 4000 nurse-delivered intravitreal injections. A Mann-Whitney test showed a significant increase in intravitreal injections (P=0.003) in the medical retina service after introduction of nurse-delivered intravitreal injections. The majority of patients accepted and were satisfied with a nurse-delivered intravitreal injection.DiscussionNurse-delivered intravitreal injections appear safe, acceptable to patients, and are an effective means to increase intravitreal injection capacity in medical retina clinics. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited.