Ophthalmic emergencies in Primary Care Practice

So far in Poland, the vast majority of patients with ocular problems have been diagnosed and treated immediately

by an ophthalmologist, acting in our country as a “GP”. Due to the introduced by the National Health Fund a change in the organization of the home health care system, involving the re-introduction of the need for a referral to an ophthalmologist, family doctors are likely to involve in the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases. This reform can reduce patient wait time in the ophthalmology office, because family doctors are trained to treat some patients with ocular symptoms. The most serious challenge that can stand in front of them is to distinguish those patients who require urgent ophthalmological consultation and to provide adequate medical care until it was provided by an ophthalmologist. Among these so-called “acute conditions in ophthalmology,” the most important are the central retinal artery blockage, retinal detachment, iritis, a base or acid burns and acute attack of glaucoma. They represent a direct threat to loss of function of the eye, and quick implementation of appropriate prehospital treatment and rapid transport to a specialized center has a significant impact on the future vision of the patient after completion of the treatment process. Therefore, it is important for the family doctor to know right workflow for both initial diagnosis and treatment of patients with eye’s acute condtions.