Lopez-led Asian Eye Institute offers alternative services and procedures that provide patients access to experts and prescriptions without going to any of the center’s eye clinics.
“Staying home is an important way to limit the spread of COVID-19, but we still need to make sure that patients receive their much-needed care for eye problems, like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration, which require regular monitoring to prevent blindness,” said Asian Eye chief operating officer Alwin Sta. Rosa.
Asian Eye offerings include video teleconsultations, electronic prescriptions, and online delivery of glasses, contact lenses, protective eyewear, and medicine. For online services and teleconsultations, patients are advised to go to bit.ly.com/AEIShop.
Dr. Amadeo Veloso, Asian Eye retina and vitreous disease specialist, reminds the public to schedule a teleconsultation as soon as possible in the following situations: changes in vision (blurry, wavy, or blank spots), eye injury no matter how minor, an increase in floaters and flashes in the vision, sudden loss of some vision, or red eye or eye pain especially if it comes with headache, nausea, or vomiting
If during the teleconsultation the doctor recommends an in-clinic checkup, Sta. Rosa said, “then we refund the teleconsultation fee in favor of a by-appointment clinic checkup.”
“Teleconsultation is our way of screening patients to determine whether they truly need to leave their homes for more comprehensive checkups,” he explained.
The eye care center implements stringent safety procedure and policies, including wearing of personal protective equipment of all healthcare staff, low-touch consultations, installation of droplet shields on the slit-lamp machines that doctors use to look into patients’ eyes, and frequent disinfection of equipment and facilities.
“As part of our health protocols, we ask patients requiring surgery to undergo rapid antigen tests with results released within 15 to 30 minutes. If the patients test positive for COVID-19, we advise them to defer their surgery until they no longer have an active coronavirus infection,” added Sta. Rosa.