[Postoperative Quality Assurance After Cataract Surgery Via the Internet].

BACKGROUND

Numerous surgeries in the field of ophthalmology take place on an outpatient basis or only as part of a short inpatient stay. The quality requirements are very high. Postoperative quality controls often can't be done by surgeons themselves because the postoperative aftercare is usually no longer carried out at the surgical centre but by the referring ophthalmologists.

METHODS

To optimize our operative quality assurance, the eye center of the University Hospital Freiburg has developed an internet-based quality assurance procedure in cooperation with the Augennetz Südbaden (ANSB), in which numerous established ophthalmologists from the region network. There is comprehensive reporting on cataract surgeries. The results of the follow-up examinations are reported in a structured manner via secure internet masks from the doctors' practices, taking into account data protection regulations. Feedback always takes place after 3 months and, thus, at a point in time at which the final surgical result can usually be assessed.

RESULTS

Since the establishment of the quality register in November 2009, a total of 8043 records of cataract operations have been reported until the end of 2018. This sample comprises 20.2% of all cataract operations performed at the eye center of the University Hospital Freiburg during the same period. Mean follow-up was 76 days. During cataract surgery, the target refraction was missed by less than 1 dioptre in 90% of all operated eyes. Keratoplasty was identified as a risk factor for missing the target refraction.

CONCLUSION

The internet-based quality assurance of the eye center of the University Hospital Freiburg enables continuous monitoring of the operation quality over a longer period of time. In patients that underwent keratoplasty, the biometry should be critically questioned preoperatively.