Accelerating Our Virtual Care Programs Kellogg’s long-standing commitment to expanding access to eye care through e-health proved prescient during the COVID-19 pandemic. To balance the needs of patient care while minimizing potential exposure to the virus, new treatment models and protocols needed to be implemented quickly, says Jennifer Weizer, M.D., ophthalmology professor and Kellogg Safety Committee Chair.
While some patient care may be provided virtually, Kellogg
researchers have found that some critical data, (e.g., images
Kathleen Moss, COA, assists a patient at a Virtual Plus visit.
of the retina or assessments of the cornea) must be collected in-person. Therefore, our virtual care team came up with new ways to collect the patient data they needed while minimizing
Virtual Plus
contact between patients and care providers.
As COVID-19 took hold, it became clear that some patients Drive-up Services
in need of more extensive testing still feared coming into the
“During the initial stages of COVID-19, we began with drive-up
clinics, says Shahzad Mian, M.D., Vice Chair for Clinical
intraocular eye pressure (IOP) checks at the Kellogg Eye Center
Sciences and Learning at Kellogg. “We quickly realized the need to have more options for ophthalmology patients with severe
for patients with such conditions as glaucoma, which require
conditions. For these patients, we implemented
ongoing monitoring and management,” Dr. Weizer
the Virtual Plus program,” he says.
says. A follow-up eHealth visit, or virtual visit, discuss the patient’s condition.
“We continue to provide this
drive-up service for at-risk patients or those who don’t feel comfortable coming into the center or our community office locations,” she says. When the patient drives up to the clinic site, a technician suited up in personal protective equipment uses a handheld instru-
“
The program enables a patient in need of ancillary testing or treatment
THIS IS A VERY EFFICIENT AND
FOCUSED WAY FOR US TO TEST PATIENTS IN AS SAFE A WAY AS POSSIBLE. — Jennifer Weizer, M.D.
ment to measure the patient’s IOP.
“This is a very efficient and
focused way for us to test patients in as
betes to quickly and directly get needed services, eliminating waiting periods and the need to move from one room to another. After testing is complete, the patient schedules a virtual visit with a physician to discuss the results. “With Virtual Plus, patients can see us individually without
Mian. “We want to provide care at a level equivalent
safety aspects of a quick check.”
to pre-COVID-19, without patients having safety concerns.
Mia Woodward, M.D., M.S., co-director and Rebecca Wu,
M.D., operational director of the program, found that patients
services as we expand in all locations,” he says. In addition
greatly appreciate the new system. Dr. Woodward noted that
to the main Wall St. facility, Virtual Plus is currently available
“patients felt that fewer person-to-person interactions made for
at the Canton, Northville and Huron River Drive locations.
a safer appointment.”
10
macular degeneration and dia-
important from a safety perspective,” says Dr.
“We found that patients like the convenience and A large quality assessment analysis of the project led by
for conditions such as glaucoma,
crowding the waiting room, which is
safe a way as possible,” Dr. Weizer says.
“
was then scheduled with the doctor to
“Our goal is to provide our community with quality