This depends on few factors. We will always be able to provide you with useful information from a remote assessment, but there are a few things worth considering:
– Urgency – For most urgent cases remote assessment is the best initial option. We are usually fully booked for consultations every day so there is sometimes a delay before we can examine the patient in person. If we have all the information from the remote assessment form, then we can get back to you as quickly as possible with a treatment plan. This should allow you to manage the case in your own clinic, or get the patient started on therapy until an in-person assessment is possible.
– Location of the lesions – Remote assessment is most useful for conditions affecting the lids, conjunctiva and anterior segment of the globe. In cases with vision loss (including cataracts) and neurologic dysfunction, we are less likely to be able to provide a definitive diagnosis remotely. However we think that remote assessment is still useful in these cases. We would typically provide differential diagnoses and a diagnostic plan, with cost estimates for any work up which the clients would need to visit us for in person.
– Location of your practice and your client’s ability to travel – If the distance from your client to our clinic is a barrier to referral, a remote consultation would be very useful to your case. If the patient needs to come to us for surgery or additional diagnostics we can then liaise with the client and make a plan to complete these in one visit wherever possible.
If you still can’t decide whether remote assessment or in-person consultation is the best option, we would encourage you to send a remote assessment request initially. If we do a remote assessment and the client ends up coming in for an in-person consultation following this, the $150 paid for remote consultation will be subtracted from their initial consultation fee.
