News Release

FORT WAYNE — If your vision doesn’t bother you, you probably don’t think much about your eyesight on a regular basis. But if you have diabetes, you should.

When diabetes is uncontrolled, high blood sugar can lead to serious health complications, from kidney disease and nerve damage to heart disease and foot trouble. One of the most insidious complications is an eye condition called diabetic retinopathy.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diabetic retinopathy is the No. 1 cause of blindness in working-age adults.

“This complication of diabetes occurs when the tissues in the back of the eye are damaged due to poorly controlled blood sugars,” said Susan Bruick, a registered nurse and diabetes education specialist with Parkview Diabetes Care Services. “This damage can cause blood vessels to leak blood into the retinas, creating changes in vision and possible vision loss. Early symptoms of diabetic retinopathy can include floaters, blurriness, dark areas of vision and difficulty perceiving colors.”

The Parkview Diabetes Care Services team works to educate people on preventing diabetes, managing it after diagnosis, and the importance of screening for diabetes complications.

“Essentially, uncontrolled diabetes eats away at the retina,” said Chad Shirar, director of enterprise diabetes and wellness strategy for Parkview Health. “Unfortunately, many people living with diabetes don’t know how vital it is to get the screening test to be proactive in preserving their eyesight. Due to time, finances, transportation and other potential obstacles, only about 15 to 20 percent of people with diabetes get eye exams regularly to check for diabetic retinopathy.”

“In its early stages, diabetes retinopathy can develop without symptoms,” said Emily Schroeder, doctor of endocrinology, Parkview Health. “Regular screening is essential in order to detect the disease early and allow appropriate monitoring and interventions that may help prevent vision loss.”

New Screening Option

While an eye doctor can check for diabetic retinopathy in a dilated eye exam, Parkview now offers a convenient, noninvasive, highly accurate screening during a routine visit to a primary care office at certain locations across the region. No dilation is necessary and neither is bracing for a puff of air on the eye.

While most portable scanners capture images that need to be sent to an eye doctor to be read, creating wait time for the patient, Parkview uses a new, highly sensitive scanner that employs artificial intelligence technology, which produces extremely detailed images that can be analyzed in seconds.

“This scanner is the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-cleared technology solution that diagnoses diabetic retinopathy with AI,” said Shirar. “During the office visit, the exam takes only seven minutes, on average. A trained team member aligns the patient’s head in the camera, takes two images of each eye (without dilation), and about 40 seconds later, we have a diagnostic result.”

If the result of the screening is negative (good news), the care team will document the results and no additional screening is necessary unless the patient is experiencing blurred vision, in which case, follow-up with an eye specialist is strongly recommended. If the screening result is positive for diabetic retinopathy, a referral will be placed to an ophthalmologist for additional diagnostics and treatment.

Success Story In Noble County

Since August of last year, Parkview has piloted the diabetic retinopathy exam technology, performing more than 800 scans at 13 Parkview Physicians Group — Family Medicine offices. Shirar notes that the Ligonier office has seen particularly good engagement from patients.

“This clinic has the lowest recurrence of no-show rates, with high patient satisfaction,” he said. “We learned very quickly that because patients were already comfortable with their primary care teams, they were more likely to complete the exam and carry through with any follow-up care for their vision. It’s been gratifying for us to be able to add this service to meet people where they are — especially for individuals who find it difficult to take time away from work for multiple medical appointments or for people who speak some English but aren’t necessarily fluent.”

The Parkview Physicians Group — Family Medicine team in Ligonier provides care in both English and Spanish.

“Diabetic retinopathy screening has been an invaluable resource for western Noble and LaGrange county residents,” said Chris Frazier, a doctor and Parkview Physicians Group — Family Medicine primary care section chief for Noble, Steuben and LaGrange counties. “Patients have long struggled with access and affordability of these services. Now, knowing they have a positive result, patients are more likely to travel the necessary distance to have more extensive testing and earlier treatment with an ophthalmologist.”

“Because the retinal scanning technology is FDA-approved,” Shirar continued, “the exam is covered by all insurance carriers and other payors, so this means not only are we reaching more people with diabetes who really need this service, but we can also offer it at low or no cost to the patient. Then, depending on their result, we can help them get any necessary follow-up visit scheduled with an eye specialist.”

Shirar said that knowing the process can be simpler and more convenient is also likely to encourage diabetic patients who have a negative diagnostic result to return for annual scans to stay up on their eye health.

Schroeder adds that lifestyle changes — including lowering blood glucose levels, reducing blood pressure values and lowering cholesterol levels — are important for people living with diabetes, regardless of whether they have been diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy. Other eye disorders, such as glaucoma and cataracts, also occur earlier and more frequently in people with diabetes. Because some anti-glycemic (blood sugar lowering) substances have been associated with worsening of retinopathy, it’s important to discuss any medications and supplements with a knowledgeable health care provider.

To find the location of a Parkview Physicians Group — Family Medicine office where diabetic retinopathy scanning is offered, visit the Diabetes Care Services page on parkview.com.

For diabetes care tips, call Diabetes Care Services at (260) 373-4280 or visit parkview.com/diabetes. To learn more about the screening process, watch this video.