American Academy of Ophthalmology Announces Key Milestones for Ocular Disease Database, a National Quality of Care Initiative

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Academy of Ophthalmology today announced key milestones in the development of an innovative quality of care initiative launched less than a year ago. In presentations today at AAO 2014, the 118^th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Academy revealed that close to one-third of the nation's eye physicians and surgeons are participating in the IRIS™ Registry, which is the first comprehensive database of eye diseases and conditions in the United States.  

The IRIS (Intelligent Research In Sight) Registry is a centralized data repository and reporting tool that aggregates patient data from electronic health records (EHRs) to perform statistical analysis. It provides information that enables ophthalmologists to improve patient care, potentially reduce cost and enhance the speed of some large clinical trials, assist in monitoring resource utilization and comply with federal incentive programs. In less than a year after announcing a limited roll out during the Academy's 2013 annual meeting in New Orleans, the IRIS Registry is being utilized by more than 5,000 ophthalmologists across the country, with data related to more than 10 million patient visits.

"The IRIS Registry is proving to be a revolutionary tool that Academy member physicians are embracing as a catalyst for improving the quality of care we can provide to our patients," said David W. Parke II, M.D., CEO of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. "Ophthalmologists are now able to harness the power of many millions of pieces of clinical information in order to make evidence-based patient care analyses that were not previously possible."

The ophthalmology database provides the ability for clinical benchmarking at the practice, regional and national levels, enabling physicians to monitor patient care, track interventions and evaluate outcomes across different populations. It features subspecialty modules that can help analyze how different pre-existing conditions, risk factors, severity of disease and demographics affect outcomes for age-related macular degeneration, cataract surgery, diabetic retinopathy and retinal surgery.

Though the IRIS Registry is still in its infancy, it is already generating aggregate data that hint at the insights that will be available as more information enters the system. The following has been revealed about patients seen by ophthalmologists participating in the IRIS Registry thus far:

• 2 percent of patients without comorbidities require an additional procedure for complications within 30 days after cataract surgery (not including YAG laser);
• 80 percent of patients without comorbidities have a vision of 20/30 or better within 90 days after cataract surgery;
• 10 percent of patients have age-related macular degeneration;
• 46 percent of patients with age-related macular degeneration receive counseling about antioxidants when seen by an ophthalmologist;
• 11 percent of all patients have primary open-angle glaucoma; and
• 6 percent of all patients in the IRIS Registry have diabetic retinopathy.

"Within a very short amount of time, ophthalmology practices are already making meaningful improvements in patient care, based on information gleaned from IRIS Registry data," said William L. Rich III, M.D., medical director of health policy for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. "As the database continues to grow, our profession will have a wealth of statistically relevant data that will fill many gaps in ophthalmic knowledge to improve the overall quality of patient care."

At this time, the IRIS Registry is available exclusively to all U.S.-based Academy members and their practices at no cost.

IRIS Registry insights are being presented at AAO 2014, the 118th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in conjunction with the European Society of Ophthalmology, which is in session October 18-21 at McCormick Place in Chicago. More than 25,000 attendees and 620 companies from 123 countries gather each year to showcase the latest in ophthalmic education, research and technology. To learn more about the event Where All of Ophthalmology Meets, visit http://www.aao.org/2014.

For more information about the IRIS Registry, including frequently asked questions, webinars, videos and sign-up details, visit www.aao.org/irisregistry.

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology
The American Academy of Ophthalmology, headquartered in San Francisco, is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons, serving more than 32,000 members worldwide.  The Academy's mission is to advance the lifelong learning and professional interests of ophthalmologists to ensure that the public can obtain the best possible eye care. For more information, visit www.aao.org.

The Academy is also a leading provider of eye care information to the public. The Academy's EyeSmart® program educates the public about the importance of eye health and empowers them to preserve healthy vision. EyeSmart provides the most trusted and medically accurate information about eye diseases, conditions and injuries. OjosSanos™ is the Spanish-language version of the program. Visit www.geteyesmart.org or www.ojossanos.org to learn more.

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SOURCE American Academy of Ophthalmology

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