![]() ![]() ![]() They all showed interest in participating in additional online courses and requested more live educational sessions. Users have appreciated the ability to tailor their learning by combining our synchronous and asynchronous offerings.Īdditionally, eye care professionals from Zambia who completed the virtual Flying Eye Hospital program said that the courses improved their knowledge and that they would recommend the courses to their colleagues. Ophthalmology residents who have been unable to return to their institutions for traditional in-person training have said that Cybersight has been a fantastic training resource during this time. Since the pandemic started, Cybersight’s number of registered eye care professionals has grown by more than 200%. In response, Orbis has launched a library of resources on Cybersight that cover the topic of reopening-one more way in which the organization is virtually meeting the challenges presented by COVID-19. However, a chronic disease such as glaucoma does not stop progressing because there is a pandemic.įortunately, patients are slowly returning for in-person care, and many of our partner hospitals around the world are looking to Orbis for guidance on safety protocols as they reopen. We should all take the necessary precautions and prioritize safety, and we emphasize this often to our partner hospitals. Going forward, we do not want patients to forgo visits to their eye care clinics or refrain from picking up their IOP-lowering medications from the pharmacy because they are concerned about COVID-19. It is possible that we still have not seen the full extent of those effects. ![]() Because glaucoma is a chronic disease, there is a danger that high IOP went undetected or uncontrolled during the lockdown and caused irreversible damage. As a result, many patients missed their routine check-ups. Alward with eye care trainees on the Flying Eye Hospital in Hue, Vietnam, in 2019.Ĭourtesy of Geoff Oliver Bugbee and Orbis International COVID-19’S EFFECT ON GLOBAL OPHTHALMIC CAREĪmid the lockdowns in the early stages of the pandemic, most ophthalmologists around the world were seeing only emergency cases, such as patients with suspected cancer or traumatic eye injury. In Zambia, for example, Orbis has been working with partner institutions in the country for years and has a country office and permanent staff on the ground therefore, the Flying Eye Hospital program-whether in person (Figure 3) or virtual-offers an opportunity to build on prior training sessions.įigure 3. Because the virtual Flying Eye Hospital programs launched this year have served eye care professionals who were originally going to train in person, the education they have been offered online has been informed by that meticulous preparation. Planning for a Flying Eye Hospital program is a process that starts more than a year in advance, in coordination with partner hospitals with which Orbis has long-standing relationships. The curriculum of every Orbis training program is tailored to meet the needs of the participating local eye care professionals. Alward during Orbis International’s inaugural virtual Flying Eye Hospital training program for eye care professionals in Zambia.Ĭourtesy of Geoff Oliver Bugbee and Orbis International This is primarily done by providing training to partner hospitals through Orbis’ telemedicine platform Cybersight, on site at the partner hospitals, and on the Flying Eye Hospital-the world’s only fully accredited ophthalmic teaching hospital on board an MD-10 aircraft (Figure 1).įigure 2. These volunteers, which include ophthalmologists, nurses, anesthesiologists, and biomedical engineers, share their skills with local eye care teams around the world. Orbis has more than 400 volunteer faculty members from over 30 countries who work to achieve the organization’s mission to help local eye care teams improve the level of care they can provide for future generations. Orbis International’s Flying Eye Hospital Goes VirtualĪt the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Orbis International made the difficult decision to postpone its Flying Eye Hospital programs through the end of this year, including planned trips to Zambia, Cameroon, Mongolia, and India. This article is part one of a series exploring the different ways that global ophthalmology has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and how those involved with international medical missions are adapting their efforts during this unprecedented time. Some organizations, however, are now taking the opportunity to evaluate and evolve their practices in order to better provide global ophthalmic care in this new reality. ![]() With most international travel cancelled this year due to COVID-19, many medical missions have been unable to proceed as planned. ![]()
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