The e-referral service for community opticians has been launched in Coventry and Warwickshire

A new system-wide electronic referral service for community opticians has been launched in Coventry and Warwickshire, allowing opticians to make referrals for patients who need further investigations or treatment to a single point of access to Coventry’s Ophthalmology Coordination Service and Warwickshire (OCS).

Previously, opticians would have to send the referral to the patient’s GP for processing; instead, through the new system, OCS manages incoming referrals, with patients being contacted and given the choice of where they can access treatment. As of mid-June, 23 area optician practices were using the Electronic Eye Referral System (EeRS), with plans for more practices to adopt the system as the summer progresses.

Coventry and Warwickshire ICS shared expectations that EeRS would bring “significant benefits” for patients and staff, including more choice for patients; increasing patient safety and quality of care; and improved communication between primary and secondary care. In addition, the system will allow the referring optician to attach relevant images and test results to a referral which can then be used to support diagnosis without the need for additional photographs or scans.

“The team was initially worried about switching to the new portal, but on the first day we had excellent feedback as we found the new interface extremely easy to use,” says an optometrist in Leamington Spa, where EeRS has already been implemented.

In other digital healthcare and eye care news, May saw HTN report on a collaboration between South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle University and Roche Products Limited, which aims to explore how artificial intelligence can be used to to support treatment for diabetic retinopathy.

In the spring we also highlighted the launch by West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership of a new website focusing on eye health, with the aim of raising awareness and prevention around eye care and ‘looking at eyes as a journey through life”.

Other news from Coventry and Warwickshire, meanwhile, includes an EPR launch at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust in June.