What your eye doctor finds could help other doctors take better care of the rest of you
No scans or scalpels required
Most physicians typically rely on imaging scans, specialized cameras or surgery to see inside the body. Eye doctors can simply look inside the eye with nothing more than a light and a lens. They can observe living blood vessels and nerves in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye.
The eyes can show more than eye disease
Because the eyes share a network of blood vessels and nerves with the rest of the body, a comprehensive eye exam can sometimes catch a health problem before it causes symptoms anywhere else. Your eye doctor may observe:
- Fragile, leaking vessels due to uncontrolled diabetes
- Narrowed, twisted vessels from high blood pressure
- A cholesterol plaque in a retinal artery warning of stroke risk
- Swelling of the optic nerve associated with multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Inflammation on the eye's surface pointing to autoimmune disease
- Changes in the tissue around the eyes signaling thyroid disease
When an eye exam uncovers signs like these, your eye doctor may become a collaborative hub, connecting what's found in the eye to the rest of your care team.
A hub for collaborative care
Your eye doctor continues to care for your eyes and coordinates with the rest of your care team to help your eyes and whole body stay healthy.
1. The eye exam reveals a finding.
A comprehensive eye exam may reveal a change in the retina, optic nerve, front of the eye or surrounding tissues. Sometimes that change may be linked to a health condition outside the eye.
2. Eye testing or imaging can add detail.
The eye doctor may use photos, optical coherence tomography (OCT), OCT angiography (OCTA), fundus autofluorescence (FAF), visual field testing or other imaging to document what was found and see how extensive the change is. Not every finding needs additional testing.
3. A referral or medical evaluation is made to confirm the diagnosis.
If the change suggests a broader health issue, the eye doctor may refer the patient to primary care or another specialist for further evaluation and testing.
4. A primary care doctor or specialist manages the health condition.
Once the condition is diagnosed, the underlying health condition can be managed with treatment, medication changes or ongoing monitoring.
5. Eye care and medical care are coordinated.
The eye doctor continues to manage what is happening in the eye while the other clinician manages the related health condition. Relevant findings and test results can be shared between them.
6. Future eye exams maintain eye health and track changes.
Repeat eye exams can show whether changes in the eye are stable, improving or progressing. That gives the care team more information over time.
Some conditions that require collaborative care
Finding or condition | Where it's seen | What it may look like | Health link | The collaborative care team |
Diabetic retinopathy | Retina (light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye) | Bleeding, leaking or swelling; abnormal new blood vessels | Diabetes | Endocrinologist, primary care |
Hypertensive retinopathy | Narrowed or twisted blood vessels, bleeding or small deposits | High blood pressure
| Cardiologist, primary care
| |
Cholesterol plaque
| A small yellow or orange plaque lodged in an artery | Higher risk of stroke or cardiovascular disease (CVD) | Neurologist, cardiologist, primary care | |
Optic neuritis | Optic nerve (connects the eye and brain) | Swelling of optic nerve may be visible | Multiple sclerosis (MS) or other demyelinating disorders | Neurologist, primary care |
Dry eye | Ocular surface (front surface of the eye) | Unstable tear film, dry areas or tiny areas of surface damage | Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), autoimmune conditions | Rheumatologist, primary care |
Scleritis | Sclera (white outer coat of the eye) | Redness and swelling of the white of the eye | RA, immune-mediated conditions | Rheumatologist, primary care |
Anterior uveitis | Anterior chamber (inside the front of the eye) and iris (colored part of the eye) | Inflammatory cells inside the front of the eye | Spondyloarthropathies, infectious disease (herpes) and other inflammatory disease | Rheumatologist, infectious disease specialist, primary care |
Thyroid eye disease | Tissues around the eye | Eyes bulge, upper eyelids pull back | Autoimmune thyroid disease | Endocrinologist, primary care |
Chronic kidney-related eye disease | Cornea, lens, conjunctiva (clear tissue over whites of eye), retina, optic nerve | Calcium deposits on cornea, cataracts, dry eyes, fluid in the retina, increased eye pressure from dialysis | Chronic kidney disease | Nephrologist, primary care |
Sickle cell eye disease | Conjunctiva, iris, retina | Curled blood vessels in the conjunctiva, iris shrinkage; dark and orange spots from bleeding, fan-shaped blood vessels in retina | Sickle cell disease | Hematologist, primary care |
