WELCH ALLYN RETINAVUE Care Delivery Model Stories

In 2010, Jef Malpass cheered from the sidelines of the Seattle Marathon and watched his friends become part of the 1% of the population who complete a marathon.1 For Jef, who has been living with type 1 diabetes since 2004, this was the motivation he needed to hit the pavement.

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness among adults between 20 and 74 years of age. At the age of 29, Monica Johnson lost her vision to diabetic retinopathy.

Being diagnosed with diabetes can be a tough pill to swallow. An important first step is understanding the difference between the two types of diabetes: type 1, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes; and type 2, which occurs when the body can’t produce enough insulin or resists insulin.

Rendr Care is the largest primary care focused, multi-specialty physician group dedicated to serving medically underserved Asian populations in New York City. The physician group was founded in 2019 and has more than 200 medical providers serving a patient population of approximately 200,000 at its 99 locations across Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.

Summit Medical Group (SMG) is a large primary care organization spanning 13 different counties in eastern Tennessee with more than 300 providers in 66 offices. SMG implemented the RetinaVue care delivery model in 2015 to provide diabetic retinal exams to their patients at their annual office visit. 

Leveraging his vast healthcare experience, Richard Albrecht provides pivotal leadership and telehealth insight to a group of Community Health Centers in Connecticut. As the Executive Director, Telehealth Network, for seven Community Health Centers that are part of Community Health Network of Connecticut Holdings, Inc. (CHNCTH), he focuses on developing and executing a telemedicine roadmap. In this role, Albrecht has transformed access to care for patients across the state. The implementation of a teleretinal program was one of the first initiatives he introduced to the organization in 2017.

HonorHealth is a non-profit, community healthcare system serving an area of 1.6 million people in the greater Phoenix area. The network encompasses six acute-care hospitals, an extensive medical group, outpatient surgery centers, a cancer care network, clinical research, medical education, a foundation and community services.

Good Samaritan Health Services is a faith-based non-profit 501c3 providing compassionate, high-quality primary healthcare to those with limited access to healthcare. Good Samaritan is 100% funded by donations from the public and grants. All services are provided free of charge. Good Samaritan Health Services partners with local churches to provide whole-person care for the spirit, soul and body at twelve medical clinics and three mobile clinics in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Our vision screening & diagnostics team had the chance to sit down with Jim Schafer, President, and CEO of Southwest Medical Centers of Arizona, to discuss the transformation of healthcare and movement towards value-based care when treating patients living with diabetes.

Closing Diabetes Care Gaps And Achieving 5-Star Compliance For Diabetic Retinopathy with mobile medical group’s successful teletretinal program with the WELCH ALLYN RETINAVUE care delivery model.

Learn more about how Mercy Community Healthcare uses the WELCH ALLYN RETINAVUE care delivery model to close diabetes care gaps.

The Syracuse Host Lions Club has been focused on preserving vision in the community with screening programs to detect vision disorders in children for more than 10 years. In 2022, the Club expanded its vision program to include screening people living with diabetes for diabetic retinopathy. The Club is committed to preventing blindness, as seven members of the Syracuse Host Lions Club are blind.