You know what's better than sending your patient care question to AI where the sources could range from a Reddit post to a advertorial? Using a source built by doctors and pulling only from qualified clinical studies and journals that you can trust is actually accurate! So if you need to....
Find what contact lens options are available for your hyperopic high astigmatism oblique axis patient...
ODSpecs may not look sleek or flashy, but it delivers an accurate database of available contact lens parameters for both major manufacturer and specialty soft lenses. Yes, I really liked EyeDock too, but not enough to pay for it apparently. ODSpecs is just fine, and it's free.
And if you need to calculate an over-refraction for your toric lens wearer, nothing beats the reliable ToriTrack.
Advise your patient on potential dosage toxicity with hydroxychloroquine use
EyeCalc+ is just a really excellent app and website. For example with their Plaquenil Retinal Tox calculator you can enter your patient's body weight in pounds (no need to remember how to convert to kilograms!) and it tells you if the patient's dosage exceeds the daily recommended dosage and the estimated risk for developing retinal toxicity based on the landmark Melles and Marmor 2014 study published in JAMA. There are a variety of really useful tools and calculators, including an OSDI score and a OHTS Glaucoma Risk calculator.
Make the case for myopia management
The Brien Holden Vision Institute Myopia Calculator is one of my top tools for myopia management decisions. Just enter the patient's age, prescription, and the myopia management treatment you are considering, and this calculator will show you the difference between standard glasses and/or contact lens correction and pursing a myopia management treatment. Study data is limited for some patient populations, so the calculator is not as inclusive for all races unfortunately, but it can only pull from study data that exists - one more example of how we need better representation in clinical studies!
Prescribe glasses for amblyopia
ANDI or the Amblyopia Navigator Decision-Support Instrument was developed by PEDIG (Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group) which is a part of the National Eye Institute (NEI). The calculator pulls from 147 peer-reviewed clinical studies to make it's prescription and treatment recommendations. Just enter the patient age, best corrected visual acuity, and their cycloplegic refraction, and it will recommend any prescription adjustments and follow-up timeline advised by the clinical data to best promote vision improvement in the amblyopic eye and emmetropization. Recent studies have shown that 87% of all counties in America have no pediatric specialist ophthalmologist or optometrist, so this tool was created to empower general primary eyecare providers to prescribe for children with reduced vision with the confidence that the prescription and treatment plan has the backing of qualified clinical studies.
But if you really just need to ask the AI...
At least ask an AI that's only searching through qualified medical journals and research to generate an answer. That's OpenEvidence. All you need is your NPI number to open your free account, and you'll start chatting with an AI who is built on JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine to name a few trusted sources.
