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Smartphone app helps diagnose uveitis, reduce lab costs and testing
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KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — A new diagnostic app demonstrated high levels of success in accurately diagnosing patients with uveitis, according to a presenter here.
The uveitides are a diverse group of diseases, making diagnosis difficult, Andrew Reynolds, MD, said at Kiawah Eye 2014. As such, Reynolds and colleagues developed a new diagnostic tool, the Diagnostic Uveitis app, to aid in the diagnosis and evaluation of patients with uveitis.
The tool can be used on any smartphone through an Internet browser or downloaded as an app. The app was designed by George Magrath, MD, a resident at Storm Eye Institute, and is based on the standard uveitis nomenclature recommended testing. This approach helps narrow the potential infectious causes behind a particular case and favors relatively specific labs vs. less-specific screening tests.
Reynolds and colleagues tested the app on 24 patients with uveitis through a retrospective chart review.
All lab tests were assigned a dollar amount based on 2014 CMS data. Physician lab test costs averaged $258, and app lab test costs averaged $205, demonstrating a mean 20.5% reduction in cost.
The app correctly diagnosed patients 96% of the time, reducing lab testing by 25%, according to Reynolds. Diagnostic Uveitis is available for free download at www.diagnoseuveitis.com.
Disclosure: Reynolds reported that www.diagnoseuveitis.com and the associated app are copyrighted.