MONTREAL, QUEBEC – The McGill Integrated University Health Network or Réseau Universitaire Intégré de Santé (known as “RUIS”), has chosen Retina Labs iVision Solution for its teleophthalmology program. Created by the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) in 2003, the RUIS mission is to facilitate specialized care, medical education, and medical research throughout the province’s many regions. A portion of Quebec’s territory was assigned to each of the province’s four Faculties of Medicine (McGill University, University of Montreal, University of Sherbrooke and University of Laval).
The role of the RUIS McGill’s Telehealth Office is to significantly improve the public health of its territory by providing specialized and super-specialized health services closest to home. In keeping with this objective, RUIS McGill has introduced a new program for the remote screening of diabetic retinopathy for the people of the Cree Territory of James Bay, Quebec.
Retina Labs iVision Solution allows technicians working in these remote Cree territories to take digital images of the fundus of the eye. These images are then sent electronically to specialists at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) for remote interpretation and diagnosis. In cases of retinopathy, specialists recommend appropriate patient follow-up, as per the best practices of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society.
“After evaluating several telemedicine solutions, we chose iVision because of its ease of use and specialization for ophthalmology and diabetic retinopathy screening,” says Mrs. Madeleine St-Gelais, RUIS McGill’s Telehealth Coordinator. “iVision allows us to provide highly convenient, quality eye care to remote communities, while eliminating costs associated with transferring patients to urban centres for routine screenings.”
“We are excited to partner with RUIS McGill on this important initiative”, says Hamid Fotuhi, General Manager of Retina Labs. “For the First Nations people living in remote areas, it is extremely difficult to obtain access to high quality eye care. Knowing that these in-need Cree communities now have easy and continuous access to eye care is a testament to the benefits of telehealth and virtual care technologies. We are very proud of our iVision solution and the contribution it is making towards improved vision care.”
For more information about the RUIS McGill Telehealth Office, visit www.telesantemcgill.ca.
About Retina Labs
For over a decade, Retina Labs has been on the leading edge of telehealth and virtual care innovation. Its cloud-based iVision® teleophthalmology platform offers eye care professionals an integrated solution that combines advanced ocular imaging, clinical interpretation and reporting tools with integrated Electronic Medical Records, Practice Management and electronic referrals. The company’s solutions allow healthcare providers to improve access to quality eye care while streamlining the processes related to the management of chronic eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, age related macular degeneration and retinopathy of prematurity. iVision is the teleophthalmology platform of choice for hospitals, government health agencies and eye care professionals, and is recognized by the World Health Organization for its breakthrough advancements in telehealth technology. For more information on Retina Labs visit www.retina-labs.com.
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