Retina diseases are the leading cause of preventable blindness in the United States. Two of the fastest-growing demographic groups—the tens of millions of Americans living with diabetes and tens of millions of people over the age of 65—are all at risk.
Our team of physicians, entrepreneurs and business-builders came together in 2019. After years of helping our patients preserve their sight, we recognized that many people in our communities were not getting access to care. Leading research showed us that nearly half of the people living with diabetes did not know diabetes could affect their vision. And we saw from our own clinical experience that patients who needed care were often not finding it, or staying with it, in time to prevent vision loss.
We realized the process was about awareness, access, and availability. We engaged with our clinician colleagues across the U.S. and heard that many of the top retina specialists in the country felt the same way. We started Network Eye to bring this critical retina care to all—augmenting the traditional retina care pathways and providing much-needed care to the millions not getting it today.
Network Eye has set out to improve patient access and provide the best quality retina care across our communities, while reducing the cost of this care. We have brought to market a unique approach which combines approved AI-enabled retina screening technology, the emerging retailer healthcare infrastructure, on-demand/mobile capabilities, and top retina specialists spanning 20 metropolitan areas across the United States. The first of our vertically integrated care retina offerings recently launched in Tampa, Florida, in partnership with CVS Health, and we look forward to expanding this unique capability with CVS and other partners in 2024.