Regional And Remote

Outside of metropolitan areas in Australia and New Zealand, due to the smaller populations, larger distances between towns and fewer technical resources, rural and regional health services face a number of different challenges from those located in the city.  Limited resources mean that ophthalmology services may not be available all the time.

In a rural area, community members may often have to wait until an ophthalmologist visits the area or they may need to travel to a regional or metropolitan hospital for more complex diagnosis and treatment.

In some cases where long distances are a problem, telehealth (which uses technology to communicate between a community member and the ophthalmologist) may be an option.

RANZCO seeks to develop a regional training program in Australia to address maldistribution of the ophthalmology workforce.  In New Zealand the College advocates for greater incentivisation of the ophthalmology workforce to drive sustainable and improved eye health services in the lesser served District Health Boards.