'Eyefficiency' has successfully undergone 2 rounds of beta-testing!

As reported a year ago, CSH has been awarded another Seeing is Believing Innovation Fund* grant for the second phase of developing with its partners, a web-based ‘Eyefficiency’ audit toolkit for measuring the triple bottom line of cataract surgery.

The tool, developed by the Eyefficiency team’s two Ophthalmologists, Dr Peter Thomas and Dr Andy Cassels-Brown, engineer Prof Dr Cassie Thiel from NYU and CSH, consists of an App and a website. It enables the capture of data which allows surgical units to view their cataract surgeries in terms of productivity, costs, carbon-emissions, and resource consumption over time, and to benchmark these anonymously against other users.

At the end of May, ten beta sites – 1 site each in South Africa, Swaziland, Chile, Guatemala, Hungary, New Zealand, India and UK and 2 in Mexico – have successfully completed 2 rounds of beta testing of the tool.

There has been a very clear response from the beta test sites that this is an incredibly valuable tool. It is the first time, eye units have been able to collect and analyse data and draw systems improvement conclusions. Its strength lies in pulling surgical teams together. Teams have been equally engaged with discussions over productivity gains, cost and carbon footprint reductions. Their ideas for change will be shared on the website, accessible to all sites. Some sites are already planning when to re-do the audit for the third time!

We are currently rolling out the testing to sites in Scotland and England. If you would like to get involved please contact us.

* Seeing is Believing (SiB) is Standard Chartered’s flagship community investment programme which provides funding to address avoidable blindness and promote quality eye health. Through Seeing is Believing, Standard Chartered Bank has partnered with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and leading international eye-care non-governmental organisations to improve access to eye care across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America.