Diabetic Retinopathy Screening

Diabetic Retinopathy Screening

What We Do

Diabetes Canada recommends that all people living with diabetes receive a special eye exam by an ophthalmologist or optometrist every 1-2 years; more frequently for high-risk individuals. Recent data shows only 60% of people living with diabetes have an eye examination, resulting in thousands of Canadians suffering a loss of sight. Using provincial administrative databases and the National Diabetes Repository, we plan to identify those living with diabetes who have not received an eye exam in over two years. We then plan to engage these individuals through their community health centres or primary care practitioner and invite them to a Tele-retina screening site for diabetic retinopathy checkup. By directly contacting these individuals we can improve patient awareness of diabetic retinopathy, increase screening rates and prevent vision loss.

Get Involved

You will participate in discussions approximately once a month pertaining to research projects and strategic goals of the Network. You can also get involved in a research team! Researchers need your feedback to make sure research projects are relevant for people living with diabetes.

Become a Patient Partner

Our Team

Michael Brent

MD, FRCSC

Debbie Sissmore

Project OPEN Harnesses the Power of Data

By Krista Lamb With diabetic retinopathy currently a leading cause of blindness in working-age Canadians , the need to do more is clear. That’s why Diabetes Action Canada researchers Dr. Valeria Rac, lead for the Health Technology Assessment and Network Analytics program, and Dr. Michael Brent, lead for Diabetic Retinopathy Screening program, developed Project OPEN. […]

Project OPEN Supports Improved Eye Care for Vulnerable Populations

By Krista Lamb In working-age Canadians, diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of vision loss. This vision loss is often preventable with early detection and treatment. Even before the pandemic created a greater gap in services, 40% of people living with diabetes in Ontario had not had an eye exam for more than two years. […]

New paper highlights good accuracy of teleretinal screening for diabetic retinopathy

By Krista Lamb In February, BMJ Open Ophthalmology published a paper by Diabetes Action Canada researchers: Diagnostic accuracy of teleretinal screening for detection of diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration: a systematic review and meta-analysis The paper, which looks at the diagnostic accuracy of teleretinal screening for the detection of diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular […]

Reducing the Risk of Diabetic Retinopathy

Episode five looks at Project OPEN and its potential to reduce the risk of diabetic retinopathy. Malcolm Sissmore and Dr. Michael Brent from UHN Research discuss how this program is trying to make eye screening much more accessible for people living with diabetes.