Abstract
Introduction:
The ability to measure a patient's visual acuity at home (HVA) is by far the most desired remote telemedicine capability sought by ophthalmologists.
Methods:
A systematic literature review was done using Pubmed to search for publications from 2010 to 2022 in English reporting on 10 studies that compared a patient's HVA to the clinic visual acuity (CVA).
Results:
Approaches to measuring HVA included using a phone-based application, a physical chart, a computer, and a website. The most accurate of these was the use of personal computers (COMPlog, Macustat, Web based test) at home with a bias of 1 letter. The most accessible and reliable was the use of a printable visual acuity chart, available in the public domain, which had adifference between HVA and CVA of 1 to 3.5 letters. Phone apps (Verana Vision) and stand-alone websites (Farsight.com) both had a greater mean difference of about 6 letters, respectively,with a moderate correlation coefficient.
Discussion:
Overall, all three methodologies demonstrated a good negative predictive value demonstrating their potential use as an effective screening tool to flag drastic vision decline between clinic visits.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.