Emergency and Eye Care Providers’ Perspectives on the Acceptance of Interprofessional Teleophthalmology.

Abstract Background Teleophthalmology is well established for screening conditions such as retinal diseases, yet its use for synchronous interprofessional consultation in emergency departments (EDs) remains limited. This study examines how U.S. emergency and eye-care professionals viewed the challenges, opportunities, and overall acceptability of teleophthalmology for ED consultations. Methods We conducted a national cross-sectional web-based survey of emergency and eye-care providers across the United States in mid-2020. The survey assessed respondent demographics and organizational context, technology-acceptance constructs including perceived usefulness (PU) and intention to use (IU), perceived barriers and facilitators, and an open-ended item on implementation considerations. Analysis integrated descriptive statistics, subgroup comparisons, and inductive thematic analysis of free-text responses. Results Among 244 respondents, 35.2% reported prior experience with video-based telemedicine and 66.4% believed the COVID-19 pandemic would accelerate telemedicine adoption. The most frequently cited barriers were privacy and security concerns (61.9%), initial technology costs (60.6%), and resistance to workflow change (57.4%). Commonly identified facilitators included advancing technologies (59.4%), integration of telemedicine into medical and nursing education (59.0%), and easing of regulatory barriers (58.6%). Qualitative responses regarding teleophthalmology implementation in EDs reflected four sentiment profiles: positive (45.5%), cautiously optimistic (35.6%), and skeptical or negative (18.9%), with more favorable views associated with higher PU and IU scores. Conclusions Emergency and eye-care clinicians demonstrated clear readiness to adopt synchronous teleophthalmology for inter-provider consultations. Findings suggest that acceptance is shaped less by technical limitations than by persistent concerns about privacy, cost, and workflow integration. Pandemic-era policy shifts and growing telemedicine experience may facilitate broader adoption.