A comprehensive eye disease and condition patient database has “tremendous” potential to “deliver game-changing results for ophthalmologists and their patients”, according to Dr. David W. Parke II, CEO of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
The database will enable ophthalmologists to statistically analyse their own care, compare it to that of their peers and pinpoint opportunities for improvement.
The IRIS Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight) also allows ophthalmologists to manage their patients at a population level; study a specific group of patients based on conditions, risk factors, demographics or outcomes; identify trends and track interventions and answer specific clinical questions.
The ophthalmology database is expected to provide other significant benefits – among them a streamlined participation in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), a program that uses a combination of incentive payments and payment adjustments to promote reporting of quality information by eligible health professionals.
There are also plans to expand the scope of the IRIS Registry in the future by automating the collection of data directly from electronic health records; clinical research; post-market surveillance studies of ophthalmic drugs and devices; early detection of safety signals for adverse health events; and determining changes in practice patterns.
