Providing a Safe and Effective Intravitreal Treatment Service: Strategies for Service Delivery

• Main Authors: Amoaku W, Bailey C, Downey L, Gale RP, Ghanchi F, Hamilton R, Mahmood S, Menon G, Nosek J, Pearce I, Yang Y
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2020-05-01
• Series: Clinical Ophthalmology
• Subjects: capacity; intravitreal service; namd; resources
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/providing-a-safe-and-effective-intravitreal-treatment-service-strategi-peer-reviewed-article-OPTH

Winfried Amoaku,1 Clare Bailey,2 Louise Downey,3 Richard P Gale,4 Faruque Ghanchi,5 Robin Hamilton,6 Sajjad Mahmood,7 Geeta Menon,8 Jenny Nosek,9 Ian Pearce,10 Yit Yang11 1Academic Ophthalmology, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; 2University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol, UK; 3Hull and East Yorkshire Eye Hospital, Hull University Teaching Hospital, Hull, UK; 4York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, York, UK; 5Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK; 6Moorfield Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; 7Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK; 8Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, Frimley, UK; 9Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, Shropshire, UK; 10St Paul’s Eye Unit, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Liverpool, UK; 11Wolverhampton Eye Infirmary, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Wolverhampton, UKCorrespondence: Louise Downey Email [e-mail]: An aging population leads to increasing demand for medical retina services with chronic diseases being managed in long-term care pathways. Many hospital services struggle to deliver efficient and effective MR care due, at least in part, to infrastructure that does not expand responsively enough to meet the increased demand. A steering committee of retinal specialists from a variety of UK NHS hospital ophthalmology departments with experience of leading and managing NHS retinal services in the intravitreal era came together for the generation of this document to review and compile key aspects that should be considered when optimising intravitreal treatment capacity within MR services. This article aims to provide a useful collation and signposting of key published evidence, consensus and insights on aspects of delivering an intravitreal service, including treatment regimens, virtual clinics, staff training and governance, telemedicine and information technology, and data collection and key performance indicators. The objective is to equip ophthalmologic healthcare professionals with the necessary tools to develop and adapt their local service in the face of current and projected increased demand.Keywords: capacity, intravitreal service, nAMD, resources