Managing the Growing Emergency-Care Demands in Ophthalmology: A Closer Look at Call Coverage

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From 2013 through 2024, US academic centers saw significant increases in ophthalmology transfer requests, completed transfers, inpatient consultations, and emergency department consultations.
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Ophthalmologists cite compensation, equipment, medicolegal risk, hospital privileges, subspecialization, employer policies, and work-life balance concerns as factors limiting call participation.
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Limited call coverage can lead to distant transfers, financial and practical burdens for patients, delays in care, and unnecessary transfers.
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The American Academy of Ophthalmology has consolidated emergency-care resources and developed educational materials and tools to help ophthalmologists address call arrangements with hospital administr
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The author describes local efforts using these materials to improve ophthalmology call arrangements and identifies Feng et al's findings as a baseline for assessing progress.

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