Clinical Report: Patterns of Ophthalmology Transfers and Consultations
Overview
This multicenter retrospective cohort study examined ophthalmology transfer requests and consultations at US academic medical centers over as many as 12 years. The supplied study context describes its design and rationale but does not provide the study’s numerical results; related web context reports upward trends in transfers and consultations across 14 hospitals.
Background
Community hospitals face challenges sustaining ophthalmology call coverage for emergency department and inpatient care. Proposed contributors include compensation, equipment availability, medicolegal concerns, movement of surgical services to ambulatory centers, and subspecialization. Reduced local coverage may be associated with delays in time-sensitive treatment, while academic centers have reported increasing consultation and call volumes. The study was designed to characterize transfer and consultation patterns to inform workforce planning and access to emergency eye care.
Data Highlights
Measure
Study details available in supplied material
Study design
Multicenter retrospective cohort study
Transfer review period
2013–2024
Consultation review period
2014–2024
Participating hospitals and counts
Web research context reports 14 hospitals, 32,131 transfer requests, and 139,356 consultations
Numerical trend estimates
Not provided in the supplied article excerpt
Key Findings
The study reviewed accepted ophthalmology transfers from emergency department and inpatient settings at participating academic hospitals, with annual counts of requested and accepted transfers.
Consultation counts were derived from ophthalmology-authored inpatient and emergency department notes, with duplicate notes from a single encounter excluded.
Patients transferred from outside facilities were included in consultation counts; transfers and consultations were overlapping, non-mutually exclusive measures.
Participating sites were required to have hospital call covered primarily by resident physicians throughout the data-collection period and to provide data beginning in 2017 or later.
The supplied web research context reports that a 14-hospital cohort included 32,131 transfer requests and 139,356 consultations from 2013 through 2024, with statistically significant upward trends after adjustment for state population and hospital volume.
The study context identifies increasing academic-center consultation and call volumes as a potential pressure on clinical and training resources.
Clinical Implications
The study’s stated purpose is to provide data for workforce planning, advocacy, and strategies to improve access to emergency eye care. The supplied material does not establish specific staffing recommendations or report patient-level outcomes.
Conclusion
The study describes a multicenter approach to tracking ophthalmology transfers and consultations at academic hospitals. The available context reports increasing utilization, while detailed site-level results and trend estimates are not included in the supplied article excerpt.
by Shu Feng, Karine D. Bojikian, Thellea K. Leveque, Jacquelyn O’Banion, Daniel B. Moore, Donna H. Kim, Andrew T. Melson, Samuel J. Prater, Ore-ofe Adesina, Daniel J. Ozzello, Jeremy Reitinger, Ayaka Fujihashi, Joseph Bogaard, Theresa M. Long, Manasvee S. Kapadia, Douglas J. Rhee, Leona Ding, Jennifer T. Yu
