Retinal Diagnostics and Monitoring

Medical retina is a subspecialty of ophthalmology focused on diagnosing and treating diseases of the retina. The retina is the thin layer of tissue at the back of the eye responsible for capturing light and sending visual signals to the brain.

Common conditions include:

• Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD): A leading cause of vision loss, AMD affects the central part of the retina (the macula), which is crucial for sharp vision
• Diabetic Retinopathy: A complication of diabetes that damages the blood vessels in the retina, potentially leading to vision loss
• Macular Oedema: Swelling or thickening of the macula, often due to conditions like diabetes or retinal vein occlusion
• Hydroxychloroquine Monitoring: Hydroxychloroquine is a medicine that is effective in treating various long-term inflammatory disorders of the joints and skin. In general, hydroxychloroquine is a safe and cost-effective medication. However, some patients in rare cases taking hydroxychloroquine, or a similar medication called chloroquine, can suffer permanent loss of vision due to the harmful long-term effects of hydroxychloroquine on the retina.

What are Retinal Diagnostic and Monitoring Services?

These services allow collaboration between primary care in opticians (also known as optometrists) and hospital eye services to allow early detection and intervention of patients suspected of having a medical retina condition or monitoring for those who have received a diagnosis that requires ongoing monitoring.

These include the following services:

• Maculopathy Referral Filtering
• Monitoring of patients who take medications such as hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for retinal complications from their long-term medical therapy
• Monitoring patients with macular oedema or stable age-related macular degeneration

During an appointment, an optometrist will carry out an assessment of the health of the eye(s).

Assessing the inside of your eye is usually done with a specialised microscope and sometimes also using diagnostic scanning devices such as an Optical Coherence Tomographer (OCT). Sometimes eyedrops are used to enlarge the pupil to get a clearer view.

Following a comprehensive diagnostics or referral filtering assessment if a retinal condition is suspected you may be referred to hospital or community clinic for further investigation. If the findings are normal, you will be discharged from the service for routine eye tests.

Following the monitoring assessment, you may be referred to hospital or community clinic for further investigation or continue to be monitored within the service.