Heres a timesaving and effective idea for comanaging your patients with diabetes: Use a form to convey your patients important ocular and systemic information to other doctors. The form also offers an opportunity to educate the patient about the importance of annual dilated eye examinations.

The new AOA Diabetes Eye Examination Report, developed by the AOA Diabetes Eye Care Project Team and the Ohio Optometric Association, is an Adobe Reader file that can be filled in online and printed out. Or, print out the blank form and fill it in by hand.

In October, the AOA will print a triplicate version of this formone copy each for the patient, the physician of choice, and the patients chart. The patients copy will have educational information about diabetes and the eye printed on the backside.

The form was developed by Kelly Nichols, O.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., and Sylvia Jones, O.D., M.S., of Ohio State University. It was field-tested by volunteer Ohio Optometric Association member optometrists and physicians.

Download the form at www.aoa.org/x8533.xml.