Cahaba Medical Care (AL FQHC): AI Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Detected Previously-Missed DR in MORE THAN 1-in-4 Patients

Cahaba Medical Care (Alabama FQHC) implementation of LumineticsCore (formerly IDx-DR) autonomous AI for diabetic retinopathy screening: AI identified DR in OVER 1-IN-4 patients screened that would have otherwise been missed. Documented in Digital Diagnostics white paper, ADA 2022 Abstract 69-OR, and Bibb Voice news coverage. Key implementation lessons: (1) embed in primary care visit (not separate eye visit) to maximize compliance; (2) pair with electronic referral for AI-positive patients to ophthalmology; (3) staff training on retinal imaging takes ~4 hours; (4) HEDIS EED quality score improvement is measurable and bonus-eligible. For any CA FQHC with diabetic patient panel of 1,000+, deploying autonomous AI surfaces ~250 missed cases of vision-threatening pathology — translating into prevented blindness, HEDIS dollars, and risk-management value.