Cleveland Clinic Ohio and DKBmed Partner to Bring AI-Enabled Diabetic Eye Disease Screening to Primary Care Clinics
NEW YORK (5/14/2026) – Cleveland Clinic Ohio (CCO) and DKBmed announced the launch of Saving Sight: New Developments in Treating Retinal Diseases at Cleveland Clinic Ohio, a comprehensive quality improvement program designed to close a critical gap in diabetic eye care. Supported by an independent medical education grant from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the initiative brings AI-enabled retinal cameras to all 33 CCO primary care practices, making it possible for patients with diabetes to be screened for diabetic retinopathy (DR) at their regular primary care visit, no ophthalmology appointment required.
Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of new blindness in working-age adults, yet an estimated 73% of people who have it are unaware of their diagnosis. At Cleveland Clinic Ohio, only 49% of patients with diabetes have been screened for DR in the past 12 months, well below the national average of 60%. Left undetected, DR can progress silently until vision loss is irreversible. With early treatment, however, severe vision loss can be reduced by up to 90%.
The program addresses this gap head-on by deploying retinal cameras with AI-based diagnostics throughout CCO’s primary care network. Clinical staff take retinal images that are interpreted by the AI system in real time, with results delivered directly into the electronic health record. Patients who screen positive are promptly connected to a retina specialist through a dedicated referral coordinator. Those who screen negative are rescreened annually.
“For too long, diabetic eye disease has gone undetected simply because patients didn’t make it to an eye care specialist,” said Christopher Babiuch, MD, Saving Sight Program Director and Vice Chair of Safety, Quality and Patient Experience at Cleveland Clinic Primary Care Institute. “By bringing AI-enabled screening directly into our primary care clinics, we can find patients who need care before they ever lose their vision.”
“AI-equipped cameras represent a transformative shift in how we approach diabetic retinopathy screening,” said Sumit Sharma, MD, Saving Sight Program Director and Retina and Uveitis Specialist and Medical Director for Information Technology at Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute. “This program gives primary care providers a powerful new tool, and ensures that patients who need specialist care are identified quickly and connected to it.”
Alongside the camera deployment, the program includes:
- Accredited continuing medical education for both primary care providers and ophthalmologists.
- Patient education materials, including in-clinic brochures and a video available through the patient portal.
About Saving Sight
Optimizing Disease Management: Saving Sight is the original DR/DME screening program implemented by DKBmed in partnership with Lancaster General Health in Pennsylvania. By the program’s end, nearly 1,700 clinicians in primary care and ophthalmology settings were educated, potentially impacting nearly 22,000 patients; more than 700 patients with diabetes were screened at Lancaster General Health primary care practices and 42% screened positive for DR. An extension of the program, Saving Sight: A Vision for Diabetic Eye Screening at the Order of Saint Francis Health, impacted over 31,500 patients and reached more than 175 learners within the OSF Health system and beyond. As a direct result of the program, EHR data from OSF Health indicated a 118% improvement in screening rates within the system.Further extensions of this program model are bringing the quality improvement initiative to academic health centers (Massachusetts Brigham General) and community health centers (Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady, Bellin Health, Sisters of Saint Mary, the Order of Saint Francis, and Community Health Systems).
About DKBmed
DKBmed is an integrated continuing medical education company operated by an experienced team of medical education experts. DKBmed provides health care professionals with effective medical education that closes identified knowledge and practice gaps to improve patient health.Working with accredited providers and other partners, DKBmed develops innovative educational programs and quality improvement (QI) initiatives, bringing new learning methodologies to the CME landscape. DKBmed has become a leader in QI in the independent medical education space with QI projects in Pain Management, HIV, Depression, Influenza, and Diabetic Eye Disease. DKBmed was also an early adopter of case scenarios with real patients and live actors, TED/DKBmed Talks, 3D animation, webcasts, podcasts, and smart phone applications for clinicians and patients. These forward-thinking approaches enable health care professionals to learn and access educational programs in a manner that is most convenient and appropriate for them.
DKBmed’s programs are accessible through the company’s website (www.dkbmed.com). They reach more than 150,000 health care professionals in primary care and in a variety of specialties and disease states including: HIV, COVID-19, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, influenza, dermatology, retinal disease, rheumatoid arthritis, COPD, asthma, multiple sclerosis, pain management, depression and viral hepatitis (HBV, HCV) and oncology.