GoCheck Kids is upgrading their mobile vision screening application to the iPhone platform this year and I’ve been fortunate to have a sneak peek.
Rather than buy a photoscreener that costs upwards of 6 thousand dollars and may be obsolete in a few years, GoCheck Kids offers primary care providers a subscription based photoscreening service that is difficult to pass up. Just $99 per month for unlimited screens. Already over 2500 physicians have enrolled in their service.
The iPhone application is a major improvement upon their previous, Windows Phone version. First the iPhone 7 plus is 5.5 inch in size which makes it easy hold. With the new application, coupled with the larger screen size, users can quickly login and launch the application.
To perform the test – you enter the patient’s name and date of birth and then click the start screening button. You need a moderately darkened room to perform the screen. The application makes animal sounds to hold the patient’s attention as it guides you to move an appropriate distance from the patient. The sides of the screen display green when you are ready to click the screen button and display the result. The result can then be printed, faxed, or saved as a pdf file.
As if by magic the test is uploaded to the cloud via the iPhone’s wireless connection so it will appear in your practice’s GoCheck Kids portal. This makes it very easy to review with the patient’s parent and print out the result so the parent can bring the test with them when they see the ophthalmologist.
In my experience, the photoscreening CPT code of 99177 is reimbursed by most insurances at approximately 21-$25 dollars per screen. I start screening at age one and yearly until the patient can comply with a standard Snellen eye chart screen, which is usually about age 4-5. As 2% of young children have amblyopia it is very important that you begin screening for this treatable condition if you have not already done so!
