Good eye health goes far beyond simply buying a new pair of glasses. This is something that optometrists at Specsavers are more than aware of, having spent years referring patients with suspected eye conditions to specialists for further investigation and treatment.
The obvious next step was to make this well-trodden pathway as smooth as possible by partnering with the consultant ophthalmologists at Medical Optics in Fairview, Dublin, and Bray, Co Wicklow. Employing state-of-the-art technology, Specsavers can now offer a comprehensive and seamless Total Care model that enhances the patient experience and saves valuable time.
The logic, explains Kerrill Hickey, chairman of Specsavers Ireland, is to allow people with eye conditions to be treated in the community, where possible.
“Our vision in Specsavers is total care, and often patients come into us and we do have to refer them on,” Hickey says. “They may have a cataract, they may have glaucoma, they may have macular degeneration, and will need to see an ophthalmologist who will then take over their care.”
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Although it took some years to come to fruition, a new digital system and partnership with Medical Optics has made this vision of fully integrated eye care in the community possible. Dr Maxwell Treacy and his wife Dr Emma Duignan are both consultant ophthalmologists at the Royal Victoria Eye & Ear Hospital as well as at Medical Optics, which was established more than 40 years ago by Treacy’s parents.
“We are helping Specsavers look after their patients in a more holistic way,” says Treacy, adding that the two family-owned businesses have a very similar ethos in terms of patient care. “A patient may come in with a red, swollen eye, or sudden blurred vision, and while in the majority of cases the experienced optometrist can treat them, sometimes they require specialist assessment and care by ophthalmologists like us. This partnership offers a clear pathway, and means patients can benefit from clinical review in a very short time frame.”
The new integrated model of care has been made possible by Specsavers investing in an innovative digital portal that enables Specsavers and Medical Optics to quickly easily share complex patient scans, allowing ophthalmologists to offer an expert assessment – often within a couple of days. These eye scans are extremely detailed, meaning they are large and complex files that are typically difficult, if not impossible, to share.
“Before, the best I could hope for was a little snippet of the scan shared via pdf, whereas now I’m able to actually look into the machine and see the scan in literally a thousand times more detail,” Treacy explains. “That means we are able to offer Specsavers our support almost immediately, and reduce waiting times for the patient.”
‘Our partnership with Medical Optics means we can get those patients seen much quicker, and that can have a massive impact on the patient’s life, but also the outcome of their condition’
While any specialist treatment – such as surgery for cataracts or glaucoma, or injections for macular degeneration – can be carried out at one of Medical Optics’s two locations – pre- and post-operative assessments will still take place at the patient’s local Specsavers store.
“Patients are coming to us for years, and they are more comfortable and more relaxed with their local optometrist,” Hickey says. “They don’t have to travel, so it’s less stressful for them too.”
But it doesn’t just mean an easier, more straightforward treatment journey for the patient, it can also mean a better outcome, given the expedited nature of their care. “Our partnership with Medical Optics means we can get those patients seen much quicker,” he says, “and that can have a massive impact on the patient’s life, but also the outcome of their condition.”
Treacy agrees, noting that fast decision-making is essential with some urgent eye problems. “If a patient has a condition called wet macular degeneration, then they would need injections to treat that, and the critical thing with that treatment is that the sooner you start it, the better the outcome, so that’s why it’s so fantastic for patients.” He recalls an elderly patient who suffered sudden blurred vision one Friday afternoon – an emergency appointment with Specsavers on Monday led to an urgent referral to Medical Optics. “I immediately logged on to the portal and could see from her scan that it was pretty obvious it was wet macular degeneration.” By Wednesday, the patient was receiving the injections she needed.
“Last week I had a patient who needed a cataract, and we were able to get an appointment within a number of days for the ophthalmologist, and then surgery within a number of weeks,” Hickey adds. “So, much faster care for the patients and we can do some of the work locally, for example, the pre-cataract care and the post-cataract operation care. This takes some of the workload away from the surgeon, and lets them concentrate on what they do best.”
The Total Care model is now available to Specsavers patients in Dublin and the greater Dublin region, including select stores in Mullingar, Maynooth, Navan, Bray and Drogheda, but Hickey says the hope is to eventually expand it nationwide. “We are the biggest provider of eye tests in Ireland and we would ideally like to see this service provided to patients at each of our 66 stores nationwide. We all know in the medical world that local, community-based care is better for the patient, and it’s more efficient. It ties in with our ethos of providing eye care simply, consistently and affordably.”
