Armin Scharrer MD
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To reduce disease transmission, patients with routine ophthalmic issues, previously scheduled appointments and non-urgent surgeries were all deferred or rescheduled. Additional precautions were implemented to protect staff and patients during necessary visits. Ophthalmologists and staff members had to be sent in quarantine, and shortened work hours were introduced.
In case of emergencies (eg., retinal detachment, trauma), where are patients being treated?
Patients with ophthalmic emergencies can still receive care. They call in and are advised where to go to receive treatment, which may be at a private practice site or a hospital.
What are your concerns about the impact on patients who may not be able to get in for their appointments?
Patients with sight-threatening conditions, including diabetic retinopathy, wet age-related macular degeneration and retinal vein occlusions among others, risk permanent vision loss if they cannot be seen either because their appointment had to be deferred or they choose not to come in because they fear exposure to the virus. To minimise the risk, we have advised patients to call if they experience pain or sudden deterioration or loss of vision. As necessary, we schedule an urgent appointment for a patient.
It is my hope that patients who are currently not able to come for a visit or whose appointment was deferred will be helped soon after the crisis subsides. Therefore, my outlook for the future is positive.
How is the pandemic affecting trainees and research?
Congresses and academic meetings are deferred for now, but trainees are still being taught daily by senior staff. Trainees had been instructed about infectious diseases before the pandemic and have been given protocols for seeing patients during the pandemic.
Because there are fewer patients than usual in our offices, trainees are able to spend more time studying from books and digital devices. In addition, they can spend more time using virtual reality simulators for intraocular surgery training.
I believe that knowledge-building for trainees will not be adversely affected if they are willing to devote themselves to learning with these tools for now. Furthermore, because of the pandemic, our trainees are acquiring important additional skills, such as how to deal with highly contagious diseases and expanding the use of telehealth services to identify urgent and emergent cases and triage patients.
