Legacy Community Health now offers remote vision appointments via telehealth – which Legacy is calling TeleVision – for a limited list of services during the COVID-19 pandemic. While in-person vision exams are not possible at this time, existing patients can video- or teleconference with a vision specialist about eye irritation, swelling or discomfort, or other eye-related issues that may arise and can help avoid a visit to the emergency room.

“TeleVision is working almost like a triage,” says Dr. Scott Sawyer, Medical Director of Legacy’s vision program. “We can determine if a patient’s condition truly warrants a hospital visit, a visit to a specialist who is able to facilitate in-person visits, or I can identify the issue and perhaps prescribe some drops or over-the-counter remedies.”

Patients may also utilize Legacy’s TeleVision services to refill prescriptions for glasses and contacts. Though the vision specialists cannot perform new vision exams, they can consult with patients about the state of their current prescription. If deemed appropriate, the specialists can then reissue the prescription, allowing patients to order new sets of contacts or glasses from online retailers, which requires a current prescription in most cases. For patients who ordered glasses or contacts at a Legacy clinic prior to the pandemic but were unable to pick them up due to the closure, Legacy will mail the patient their glasses or contacts at no cost to the patient.

The service is currently exclusively reserved for existing, established Legacy vision patients. Due to governmental mandate and the inability to perform a new-patient vision exam, Legacy is unable to see new patients for this service.

“We can talk the patient through things like vision loss, flashing lights, fluctuations or changes in vision, and help them to discern if it’s an issue that is urgent, or if it can be safely put off until we reopen,” Dr. Sawyer says.

Should a patient be prescribed eye drops or antibiotics during a TeleVision appointment, Legacy pharmacies in Montrose and Fifth Ward are offering delivery services to the patient’s home, or curbside service at the pharmacy.