General medicine and ophthalmology: common interests.
A conference entitled 'General Medicine and Ophthalmology' was held at the Royal College of Physicians on 1 June, 1992. Eye diseases are frequently a manifestation of systemic conditions; it is therefore in the patient's best interest for ophthalmologists and physicians to co-operate in their management. Without such co-operation there is the risk that patients fall between stools and neither condition is adequately treated. Medical specialties in which eye conditions are particularly prominent include dermatology, endocrinology, neurology, rheumatology, and cardiovascular diseases. The advantages of joint clinics in medicine and ophthalmology were demonstrated by Professors Alex Crombie and Pat Kendall-Taylor for Graves' disease, by Mr Philip Murray and Dr David Young for uveitis, and by Professor Eva Kohner for diabetes. These included more expert assessments of patients leading to quicker and more complete diagnoses, earlier recognition of complications, and access to a wider range of investigations and treatments, opportunities for collaborative research, improved education for patients and doctors, increased patient convenience, and a stimulus for better control of factors which can worsen the disease.
Dudley Road Hospital, Birmingham.
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