SAN FRANCISCO and SANTA CLARA, Calif.—EyeXam, a mobile app developer specializing in eyecare, has formed a joint venture with telemedicine company GenieMD to offer an accessible platform called eyeXamVirtual that connects patients with providers. The combination of GenieMD’s telemedicine platform and EyeXam's proprietary, self-guided method for measuring visual acuity using a mobile device provides consumers with easy access to eyecare providers physically and virtually, the companies said in an announcement. Soheil Saadat, PhD, GenieMD’s founder and CEO, said eyeXamVirtual will deliver “a unique telemedicine engagement model to vision care by combining EyeXam's patented technology with our world-class cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence and mobile technologies to provide the finest and fastest access to eyecare patients, when they need it most.”

EyeXam founder and CEO Nikki Iravani, OD, optometrist said eyeXamVirtual will “optimize the existing EyeXam app and bring the best in class in telemedicine to eyecare.” She noted that “COVID-19 presented challenging circumstances and increased the demand for patients to visit with eyecare providers virtually. EyeXam’s infrastructure and patented technology together with GenieMD’s platform accelerated availability of virtual eyecare for our patients.”

Iravani told VMAIL that eyeXamVirtual will be offered to doctor networks for private label branding.