It’s a common scenario: a patient injures his eye, self-refers to the Emergency Department, and receives treatment from a doctor who does not specialize in optometry. The result? Higher medical bills to address an ocular trauma that could have been successfully treated in an optometrist’s office.

The Southern New England Practice Transformation Network (SNE-PTN) led by the University of Massachusetts Medical School and UConn Health, is addressing this costly issue head on with its Emergency Department Avoidance initiative, and the results are astounding.