Exploring the benefits of digital workflows with Harvey Uy, MD, DPBO, FVRSP at EURETINA 2025

Harvey Uy MD, DPBO, FVRSP, shared new findings on digital workflow utilisation during this year's European Society of Retina Specialists (EURETINA) congress. Held from 4 to 7 September in Paris, France, the EURETINA meeting brought together some of the greatest minds in the retina space, as well as the most cutting-edge tools and therapeutics.

Uy is based in the Philippines, where he is a clinical associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of the Philippines, and practices at Peregrine Eye and Laser Institute. Amid the high-tech environment of EURETINA, he told the Eye Care Network that he was shocked to see how many clinicians, especially retina specialists, have yet to adopt a fully digital workflow.

"It just amazes me how many doctors, all over the world, still use print documents to figure out what's happening to their patients," he said. "Now, we have image management software [available] in digital form, and this allows doctors to very quickly review what's happening structurally, over time."

Prof Uy shared a presentation during the EURETINA congress, titled "Clinical study results: Comparison of image review parameters from two different optical coherence tomography analytical workflows.” In that study, Prof Uy said he and his colleagues demonstrated that digital tools provide significant efficiency and accuracy benefits over traditional practices.

"By using a digital workflow, compared to looking at print images, you need [half the time] to review images," Prof Uy emphasised. "We also show that the doctors in our practice overwhelmingly prefer to use a digital system compared to a print system. They get more confident in their diagnoses."

Along with the multidimensional benefits for clinicians, digital workflows also help to empower patients. Digital interfaces serve as an excellent tool for patient education, Prof Uy said. "When the patients look at the digital images, they instantly understand what's happening to them. When we make a management recommendation, we have a much higher conversion rate," he explained. "So you have happy doctors, happy clinic staff and happy patients."