IOP Drive-Through

With many in-person appointments canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine has stepped in to provide continuity of care to ophthalmic patients. But it doesn’t have all the answers. When it comes to measuring intraocular pressure (IOP), a Zoom call can’t cut it. That’s why researchers from the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of California, San Francisco decided to try an unorthodox approach – and set up a drive-through IOP screening clinic. From April to June 2020, they collected data from the 135 patients who used the service 151 times and found that the mean IOP was 18.2 mmHg, with pressure greater than 30 mmHg in 14 eyes. Almost one-third of the drive-through screening visits resulted in a change of disease management.