David Chenoweth is a medical student at the University of Iowa who is living with type 1 diabetes. David already has a busy schedule, but like many people living with diabetes, he also has to find time for the varying appointments that come with a chronic disease diagnosis.
Routine appointments quickly add up for patients managing chronic illnesses like diabetes. From primary care and endocrinology visits to lab work and specialist exams, such as the eye exam for diabetes, juggling healthcare can be overwhelming.
“For me and most people with type 1 diabetes that I know, if there’s one appointment that we tend to skip out of the many we have as people with chronic illness, it’s the eye exam,” David says.
A Common Struggle for Patients with Chronic Illness
This situation is not unique. Many people with diabetes are accustomed to being referred to get a routine eye exam. Since these appointments typically don’t result in a prescription or immediate action, it’s common for individuals to go years—sometimes even decades—without completing the recommended exam. Unfortunately, many people only seek care once they notice vision problems, by which time treatment options are more limited.
In fact, as few as 15% of people living with diabetes receive their annual eye exam for diabetes, putting them at risk for undiagnosed diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults.
When David shared with his endocrinologist that he hadn’t received a diabetic retinopathy exam in years, she introduced him to LumineticsCore™, Digital Diagnostics AI-powered solution for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy at the point-of-care.
“My endocrinologist ordered the LumineticsCore exam for me because I complained to her that I was really busy, and I had missed two years of retinopathy [exams] just because it was difficult to make it work with my medical school schedule,” David recalls.
LumineticsCore: Making Diabetic Retinopathy Exams More Accessible
Unlike the traditional eye exam for diabetes, which requires a visit to a specialist, LumineticsCore enables physicians to offer diabetic retinopathy exams at the point-of-care, making testing more convenient for patients like David.
“The LumineticsCore exam is a lot easier and more comfortable than the traditional diabetic retinopathy exam for several reasons. One, it’s just very quick. Unlike the traditional exam, it’s not two separate appointments,” David explains.
Reducing the Burden on Patients
LumineticsCore addresses one of the key challenges of living with diabetes: the time-consuming nature of routine healthcare appointments. Diabetes eye exams in particular can take an entire day due to long wait times. By bringing the exam to the point-of-care, LumineticsCore can eliminate the need for a separate appointment with a specialist, allowing patients to complete the exam quickly and conveniently. This streamlined process provides much-needed relief for people already managing the demands of multiple healthcare visits, frequent trips to the pharmacy, and ongoing coordination with insurance providers.
“It’s really nice when things like LumineticsCore come along that decrease that burden. You simply walk up, put your chin in the chin rest, and then you’re done with something that would ordinarily take an entire day from you,” David explains.
By bringing the eye exam for diabetes to the point-of-care, LumineticsCore helps ease the healthcare burden on patients and expands access to vital diagnostic services. It’s technology that makes a real difference—helping patients like David stay on top of their health without disrupting their busy lives.
For more on David’s story and how LumineticsCore has helped simplify his healthcare routine, watch his full interview here.
Learn more about LumineticsCore, our AI-powered diagnostic solution for diabetic retinopathy.