Autonomous AI-assisted diabetic retinopathy screening at primary care is associated with increased presentation to eye care by at risk patients

Ariel Leong; Risa M Wolf; Roomasa Channa; Jiangxia Wang; Harold Lehmann; Michael D Abramoff; T Y Alvin Liu

doi:10.1038/s41746-026-02460-5

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Autonomous AI-assisted diabetic retinopathy screening at primary care is associated with increased presentation to eye care by at risk patients

Journal article

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Peer reviewed

Autonomous AI-assisted diabetic retinopathy screening at primary care is associated with increased presentation to eye care by at risk patients

Ariel Leong, Risa M Wolf, Roomasa Channa, Jiangxia Wang, Harold Lehmann, Michael D Abramoff and T Y Alvin Liu

NPJ digital medicine

03/05/2026

DOI: 10.1038/s41746-026-02460-5

PMCID: PMC13077085

PMID: 41781569

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Abstract

Adult patients with diabetes (n = 3745) seen at Johns Hopkins Medicine primary care sites were referred to the Wilmer Eye Institute either based on a primary care provider referral or autonomous AI diagnostic result (referral was made after a positive or non-diagnostic result). An inverse-probability-weighted regression, which incorporated propensity score matching on social determinants of health and relevant clinical variables, showed that implementation of an autonomous AI-assisted diabetic screening program in a primary care clinic was associated with increased presentation to eye care specialist care by African-Americans (p = 0.02). This is significant because African-Americans have traditionally been less likely to undergo annual screening exams and more likely to present with more severe forms of diabetic retinopathy (DR). The results suggest a potential association between office-based, AI-assisted DR screening and improved downstream ophthalmic access for African-American patients. However, given that the analysis was exploratory, this association should be interpreted cautiously and further validated.

Details

Title: Subtitle: Autonomous AI-assisted diabetic retinopathy screening at primary care is associated with increased presentation to eye care by at risk patients
Creators: Ariel Leong - Johns Hopkins University
Risa M Wolf - Johns Hopkins University
Roomasa Channa - University of Wisconsin–Madison
Jiangxia Wang - Johns Hopkins University
Harold Lehmann - Johns Hopkins University
Michael D Abramoff - University of Iowa
T Y Alvin Liu - Johns Hopkins University
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: NPJ digital medicine
DOI: 10.1038/s41746-026-02460-5
PMID: 41781569
PMCID: PMC13077085
NLM abbreviation: NPJ Digit Med
ISSN: 2398-6352
eISSN: 2398-6352
Publisher: Springer Nature
Language: English
Electronic publication date: 03/05/2026
Academic Unit: Electrical and Computer Engineering; Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center; Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Record Identifier: 9985141867702771

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