NICE publishes Diabetic Retinopathy guidelines

New guideline on managing diabetic retinopathy

NICE has published the Diabetic retinopathy: management and monitoring guideline. The new guideline covers managing and monitoring diabetic retinopathy in people under the care of HES.

The College of Optometrists led analysis and feedback on the draft NICE guideline on the sector’s behalf. It called on NICE to ensure the guideline advised that patients should continue to have regular eye examinations with primary care optometrists to meet their broader eye care needs. The NICE committee accepted this recommendation, with the new guideline stating:

• “People who are discharged to the screening programme are expected to attend both eye screening appointments and regular appointments with primary care optometrists. This will help identify if further treatment is needed in the future and identify other eye diseases that are not covered by the eye screening programme.”