What a great retinal screening workflow looks like

A retinal screening program lives or dies on workflow. The clinical value is obvious — one fundus photo can surface diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and hypertensive changes long before a patient notices anything. But the practices that actually move the needle aren’t the ones with the fanciest camera. They’re the ones where capturing an image, sending it out, and getting a specialist report back into the chart is a smooth, repeatable five-minute routine.

Here’s what a great screening workflow looks like in practice, and how to stand one up without disrupting your clinic.

Step 1: Choose a camera that fits your room, not your wishlist

EyeSee is device-agnostic — we read images, we don’t sell hardware — so the right camera is the one your staff will actually use. A few practical considerations:

• Tabletop vs. handheld. Tabletop units give consistent, high-quality images and suit a dedicated screening station. Handheld cameras win in tight rooms, mobile programs, and wheelchair-accessible settings.
• Non-mydriatic capability. Cameras that image through an undilated pupil keep visits fast and patients comfortable — a big deal for screening volume.
• Image quality and export. You need a camera that produces clear, properly exposed fundus images and exports a standard file format you can upload securely.

You don’t need a $40,000 device to run a great program. You need clear images of both eyes and a team that knows how to get them.

Step 2: Train staff to capture good images — every time

This is where most programs stall. A board-certified read is only as good as the image it’s based on, and a blurry or off-center photo means a repeat visit. Build a short, written capture protocol and have every screener follow it:

1. Dim the room to encourage natural pupil dilation on non-mydriatic cameras.
2. Position and align carefully — chin in the rest, gaze on the fixation target.
3. Capture both eyes, centered on the optic disc and macula.
4. Review on-screen before the patient leaves. If it’s blurry, dark, or clipped, retake it.

The single biggest predictor of a useful read isn’t the camera — it’s whether the screener checks the image quality before the patient stands up.

A 20-minute training session and a laminated checklist at the camera station will eliminate the majority of ungradable images.

Step 3: Upload securely — and where the read fits

Once you have a clean image of each eye, it goes up through a secure, encrypted channel. This is the handoff point in the workflow: imaging happens locally, interpretation happens remotely. A board-certified ophthalmologist reviews the photos and returns a structured report — the same “radiology for eyes” model that lets the patient stay entirely within your practice.

The read fits after capture and before your follow-up decision. You’re not waiting on a specialist appointment across town; you’re folding an expert interpretation into the visit you already had. See the full sequence on our how it works page.

Step 4: Get the report back into the chart

A report that lives in an inbox is a report that gets missed. Bake the return path into your existing documentation flow:

• Assign a staff owner to file each report into the patient record.
• Flag any abnormal or referable findings for clinician review the same day they arrive.
• Track which screened patients still need follow-up so nothing falls through.

When the report lands in the chart automatically or through a single defined step, your clinicians can act on findings without hunting for results.

How long does it take to get a report?

Most EyeSee reports come back in 24–48 hours. That turnaround is deliberate: it’s fast enough to fit a normal follow-up cadence, and it means you can screen during a routine visit without holding up care or scheduling a separate specialist appointment. Urgent or referable findings are surfaced so your team can prioritize outreach.

What does the practice actually have to do?

Less than most teams expect. Your responsibilities are narrow and repeatable:

• Capture a clear image of both eyes.
• Upload securely.
• File the report and act on the findings using your clinical judgment and current screening guidelines.

Everything between the upload and the report — the specialist interpretation — is handled for you. Explore the full scope on our services page, and if you’re evaluating a program for a network or partner site, our partners page covers how we plug into existing operations.

Start small, then scale

The best programs begin with one camera, one trained screener, and one defined report path — then expand once the routine is muscle memory. A tight workflow turns retinal screening from a “someday” initiative into a quality measure you close in-house, week after week.

Want help mapping a screening workflow to your clinic’s setup? Schedule a demo and we’ll walk through capture, upload, and reporting with your team.