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With another month of summer sunshine left, it’s important to continue to apply enough sunscreen and wear sunglasses with strong UV protection when outside. August being National Eye Exam Month and Cataract Awareness Month, it’s the best time of the year to promote eye safety and encourage your patients to come in for standard eye exams.
You can have a positive impact on more than the patients in your own ophthalmology practice by joining a national registry, like Intelligent Research in Sight (IRIS). IRIS integrates with Electronic Health Records (EHR) software and helps drive innovations in eye care while helping you meet quality reporting requirements.
How EHR Improves Ophthalmology Practices
Here are the benefits of EHR for an ophthalmology practice:
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Specialty-Specific Templates: Streamlines documentation with ophthalmology-focused exam templates, such as for visual acuity, intraocular pressure, and fundoscopy.
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Image & Diagnostic Integration: Seamlessly integrates with imaging devices (OCT, fundus camera, visual field analyzers) for centralized access to test results.
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Improved Patient Flow: Speeds up check-ins, exams, and follow-ups, reducing wait times and improving clinic efficiency.
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Accurate Documentation: Minimizes errors with structured data entry and automated coding for eye-specific diagnoses and procedures.
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Customizable Workflows: Adapts to unique practice needs, whether for general ophthalmology, retina, glaucoma, or LASIK specialties.
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Better Patient Communication: Enables secure patient portals for sharing test results, educational resources, and appointment reminders.
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Regulatory Compliance: Supports MIPS/MACRA reporting and ensures compliance with HIPAA and CMS documentation standards.
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Data-Driven Decisions: Offers analytics and reporting tools for tracking outcomes, identifying trends, and enhancing care quality.
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E-Prescribing & Referrals: Simplifies medication management and streamlines referrals to optometrists or other specialists.
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Remote Access: Allows providers to review records and update notes from any device, enhancing flexibility and responsiveness.
Stay Engaged With Your Patients About Eye Health
Almost 50% of patients said they don’t have vision exams annually. One doctor reports that after having Laser Vision Correction, most patients forget to have their eyes examined ever again. “It takes our reminding them that they can develop cataracts, glaucoma and retinal problems,” he says. It’s important to remind patients of the importance of being examined even when they don’t need glasses or contacts anymore. Early detection and early treatment are what preserve your patients’ vision.
There are a variety of new technologies available to enhance communication between the provider and the patient, such as telemedicine, which makes patient engagement only a click away through email, text, and video. Selecting a telemedicine software that is interoperable with your EHR supports more frequent patient communications and access to timely treatment.
EHR Software and the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s IRIS Registry
The American Academy of Ophthalmology’s (AAO) IRIS registry integrates with EHR systems and extracts data from them, helping ophthalmology practices compare patient outcomes, professional performances and care processes across the country. Additionally, they streamline quality reporting under the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) by automating the extraction of data from the EHR.
PrognoCIS Electronic Health Record integrates with the IRIS registry, and also provides procedural templates (such as corneal pachymetry and ocular motility), drawing tools, and health maintenance tests. PrognoCIS Ophthalmology EHR also delivers eye test templates for cataracts, diabetes, glaucoma, high blood pressure, macular degeneration and more to make patient tests simple and convenient.
We wish you the best in delivering healthcare to your patients in ophthalmology and encourage you to look for new and innovative ways to engage with your patients. We hope you see many patients this summer and for the remainder of National Eye Exam Month!
