This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
SightRisk launches cloud-based AMD risk assessment program
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
LAS VEGAS – MacuHealth introduced SightRisk USA, a cloud-based algorithm to help eye care professionals assess patients’ risk of developing age-related macular degeneration.
“The program is all about prevention,” MacuHealth vice president of sales and new business development, David Israel, said at a press conference here at Vision Expo West. “It allows for a discussion and education to occur early in the patient’s life.”
Israel explained the five steps of the program.
The eye care practitioner’s office emails an editable PDF to the patient prior to exam. The patient answers 14 lifestyle questions addressing factors such as diet, smoking, blood pressure, prolonged sun or blue light exposure and supplement intake, he said.
The patient either emails the completed form back to the ECP’s office or prints it out and brings it in.
Next, a staff member inputs the patient’s and doctor’s answers into a portal so the risk can be calculated. The doctor’s five questions are related to factors such as macular changes, presence of hyperopia and macular pigment optical density measurements.
The algorithm calculates the responses and immediately produces a report that indicates the patient’s risk of developing AMD by a designated age as well as a list of easy-to-understand recommendations to reduce that risk.
Israel said that the program is scientifically validated based on a review of more than 300 published studies and thousands of data points from AMD patients studied.
“Prevention and subsequent monitoring is key to multidisciplinary care,” he said, especially in light of participating in accountable care organizations as well as protection from litigation.
Doctors can purchase a 3-year lease with unlimited access or make a down payment with a monthly fee, Israel noted. – by Nancy Hemphill, ELS, FAAO
Disclosure: Israel is employed by MacuHealth.