Table 1.

Top tips for implementing the recommended T&E pathway.

• Make sure that all stakeholders, including the business manager, lead clinicians and administrative staff, have an understanding of the benefits of a T&E protocol.

∘ Set up a meeting with the entire team to explain the protocol and answer any questions.

• Make sure there is a designated coordinator and administrative team, distinct from other ophthalmology administrators, to manage appointment bookings, plan for peaks in service and identify any areas of the service that may require additional support.

• Have laminated copies of the locally accepted T&E pathway in all medical retina clinics along with clear discharge guidelines.

• Decide which patients to move to the T&E protocol first, for example treatment-naïve patients.

• Where possible, deliver injections on time to make it easier to identify the optimal treatment interval for each patient.

• If patients miss an appointment, decide whether to extend from the original appointment date or from the rescheduled appointment date.

• Create a robust method for rebooking patients who do not attend their appointment and train staff to use this method.

• Decide how many extensions with disease recurrence should be tolerated, before deciding not to extend to that interval again.

• Plan a policy for managing fellow eye involvement.

• Set up two separate contact numbers, one for booking appointments and one for patients concerned about a sudden deterioration in vision. The latter is especially useful for patients on longer treatment intervals or patients who have been discharged.

• Where possible, visit an established T&E service to see how it is run.