BACKGROUND Ophthalmology is one of the most requested medical speciality services in the elderly population. Although numerous studies have shown the potentials of telemedicine for the provision of ophthalmology services, the extent of its usability in older adults and the aged population is not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics and usability features of teleophthalmology for the elderly population. METHOD We searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus and CINAHL for relevant studies since 2008. Forty-five papers met the eligibility criteria and included in this review. We used a multifaceted model to extract the data and analyze findings by cross-tabulation. RESULTS The majority of the reviewed papers included participants of 65 years of age or older. Most of the studies were conducted in the USA (38 %). Diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and cataract were the most researched eye diseases, and among the imaging technologies, retinal photography had been used the most (72 %). The studies showed teleophthalmology can improve access to specialty care, reduce the number of unnecessary visits, alleviate overloads on treatment centers, and provide more comprehensive exams. It also made services cost-saving for stakeholders and cost-effective in rural areas. However, teleophthalmology was not cost-effective for patients above 80 and low-density population areas. CONCLUSION Evidence is lacking for the usability and effectiveness of teleophthalmology for the elderly population. The findings suggest that primary care providers in collaboration with ophthalmologists could provide more effective eye care to elderly population. Appropriate training is also necessary for primary care doctors to manage and refer older patients in a timely manner. Diagnostic value and cost-effective imaging modalities which are the core of the teleophthalmology, can be enhanced by image processing techniques and artificial intelligence.

中文翻译：

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老年人眼科：文献综述。

背景技术眼科是老年人口中最需要的医学专业服务之一。尽管众多研究表明远程医疗在提供眼科服务方面的潜力，但尚不清楚其在老年人和老年人中的可用性范围。这项研究的目的是调查老年人眼科的特点和可用性特征。方法自2008年以来，我们搜索PubMed，Embase，Scopus和CINAHL进行了相关研究。有45篇符合资格标准的论文被纳入本评价。我们使用了一个多方面的模型来提取数据并通过交叉列表分析结果。结果大多数经审查的论文包括65岁以上的参与者。大多数研究在美国进行（38％）。糖尿病性视网膜病变，青光眼，年龄相关性黄斑变性和白内障是研究最多的眼部疾病，在成像技术中，视网膜照相术使用最多（72％）。研究表明，眼科眼科可以改善就医机会，减少不必要的就诊次数，减轻治疗中心的负担，并提供更全面的检查。它还使利益相关者节省了服务成本，并在农村地区节省了成本。但是，对于80岁以上和低密度人群，患者的眼科治疗并不划算。结论缺乏关于老年人眼科眼科学的可用性和有效性的证据。研究结果表明，初级保健提供者与眼科医生合作可以为老年人群提供更有效的眼保健。为了使基层医疗医生及时管理和转诊老年患者，还需要进行适当的培训。诊断价值和具有成本效益的成像方式是远程眼科的核心，可以通过图像处理技术和人工智能来增强。