Principles of Ocular Telehealth Implementation

This chapter discusses general principles for implementing an ocular telehealth program. The goals of an ocular telehealth program are to effectively improve access to high-quality clinical care and to ensure sustainable long-term benefits for the organization, patients, and community that it serves. To achieve these goals, it is necessary to understand the perspectives of and actively engage key stakeholders in the design, implementation, and continuous evaluation of an ocular telehealth program. The authors describe how to identify these key stakeholders and provide an overview of known barriers and facilitators to ocular telehealth use among various stakeholders in a primary care–based teleretinal diabetic eye screening program. The chapter reviews possible strategies to overcome barriers and leverage facilitators to successfully engage these stakeholders in ocular telehealth implementation. An evidence-based method for working with clinical stakeholders to tailor ocular telehealth implementation to the unique needs and resources of their organization is provided. The chapter concludes with general considerations and recommendations for training personnel involved in establishing and actively participating in an ocular telehealth program. The success and long-term sustainability of an ocular telehealth program rely not only on the ability to create the technical infrastructure to support the program but also on achieving strong stakeholder engagement and robust training of personnel to ensure high-quality patient care and long-lasting partnerships that maximize the benefits to our organizations, patients, and communities.