Uveitis Specialists
Patients who arrive at a diagnosis of uveitis will have got there by various routes, including from their GP's, their optometrist or by visiting a hospital casualty department.
Following the first contact there should then follow a process of referral to get each patient to the most suitable eye specialist or centre.
There are many different types of uveitis and each patient may show a great deal of variation in the severity of their case. Each patient may have very different referral needs:
For a patient with anterior uveitis, who has no complications then being treated at a local hospital by a general Ophthalmologist who is aware of the correct treatment and possible complications.
Patients who have a type of uveitis that needs special experience and specialised treatments must be referred on to an appropriate specialist in uveitis. It is generally accepted that there is a shortage of such specialists in a lot of areas.
The realistic outcome of this is that the referral of patients to the limited time available from the specialists with a special training in uveitis must be very carefully selected.
In effect the uveitis specialists must be used to treat the difficult or complicated causes and straight forward cases should be treated and monitored in more general eye clinics.
Problems with this:
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'under treatment' may occur
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initial diagnosis may be missed
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lack of suitable monitoring
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complications picked up.
Advantages:
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Pt's with uncomplicated uveitis can be seen nearer to home
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pts with complicated, severe uveitis can be given maximum time with the trained uveitis specialists.
If you are worried about finding a uveitis specialist or whether you need to see a uveitis specialist, then please feel free to contact the UIG for advice.
We may not be able to recommend the right solution but we can help to explain the situation and help you to ask questions and find out what you need to know.
We are aware of most of the uveitis specialists working in the UK and some other countries, but definitive lists do not exist.