Ophthalmology practice during COVID-19 pandemic: A survey of Indian ophthalmologists.
Indian J Ophthalmol
; 69(12): 3638-3642, 2021 Dec.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1538654
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
To assess the ophthalmic practice pattern among ophthalmologists in India amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS:
An online questionnaire-based analysis was performed among members of the All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS) and results were analyzed using SPSS software version 20.RESULTS:
A total of 2253 responses were received. The majority of the participants (72.6%) were between 30 and 60 years of age and were into private practice (64.7%). During the lockdown, over one-third of participant ophthalmologists reported not attending any OPD patients, whereas a majority (64%) provided only emergency ophthalmic services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, <15% surgeries were performed compared to the pre-COVID-19 era by 81% of participants, whereas elective surgeries were performed by only 4.3%. The proportion of participants utilizing telemedicine in ophthalmology showed a two-fold rise from the pre-COVID-19 era (21.9%) to the COVID-19 pandemic (46%). Over half of the participants reported following the AIOS guidelines, reducing clinic hours, use of screening questionnaires, minimizing staff, and use of breath shield on a slit lamp as precautionary measures to reduce the exposure. Over 95% of ophthalmologists were satisfied (score > 5/10) by the AIOS guidelines for ophthalmic practice during COVID-19.CONCLUSION:
COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the ophthalmic care services across India with telemedicine emerging as a major rescue. The majority of practicing ophthalmologists are satisfied with guidelines provided by AIOS for ophthalmic care during the COVID-19 pandemic and have implemented the same in their setup.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Ophthalmology
/
Ophthalmologists
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Indian J Ophthalmol
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijo.IJO_1589_21
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS