Diabetes: excluded from retinal screening
Indicator
The proportion of eligible people with diabetes who are excluded from diabetic eye screening as they have opted out or are classed as medically unfit.
Indicator type
Network / system level indicator.
The indicator would be appropriate to understand and report on the performance of networks or systems of providers.
This document does not represent formal NICE guidance. For a full list of NICE indicators, see our menu of indicators.
To find out how to use indicators and how we develop them, see our NICE indicator process guide.
Rationale
A range of eye problems can affect people with diabetes. One of these conditions is diabetic retinopathy, caused by high blood sugar levels damaging the back of the eye (retina). Diabetic retinopathy can cause blindness if it is left undiagnosed and untreated, however if problems are caught early, treatment can help prevent or reduce vision loss. This indicator will identify the proportion of eligible people with diabetes who are excluded from diabetic eye screening because they have opted out or are classed as medically unfit to help providers ensure that people are not being excluded from screening unnecessarily.
Source guidance
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Type 1 diabetes in adults: diagnosis and management. NICE guideline NG17 (2015, updated 2022), recommendation 1.15.5
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Type 2 diabetes in adults: management. NICE guideline NG28 (2015, updated 2022), recommendation 1.8.25
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Diabetes (type 1 and type 2) in children and young people: diagnosis and management. NICE guideline NG18 (2015, updated 2023) recommendations 1.2.125 and 1.3.84
Specification
Numerator: The number of people in the denominator who are excluded from diabetic eye screening as they have opted out or are classed as medically unfit on the final day of the reporting period.
Denominator: The number of eligible people with diabetes, on the final day of the reporting period.
Calculation: Numerator divided by the denominator, multiplied by 100.
Exclusions: None.
Data source: NHS Diabetic Eye Screening programme.
Minimum population: The indicator would be appropriate to understand and report on the performance of networks or systems of providers.
ISBN: 978-1-4731-5561-9