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Prescribing workflow

Most styes don’t need a script — but when they do…

OptoGuide™ takes a hordeolum from presentation to a clinician-reviewed plan — warm compresses and lid hygiene first, and when a topical antibiotic is warranted, the script is built for you rather than hand-written.

Structured for Australian optometry practice. Clinically reviewed by Dr Ankit Mathur, PhD, Grad Cert Ocu Thera, B.S. Optom.

Red flags — assess urgently before anything else

A localised, tender lid lump is usually benign, but spreading or orbital signs support urgent escalation.

  • Spreading redness, marked or unilateral lid swelling, or systemic upset.
  • Reduced vision, pain on eye movement, or restricted eye movement.
  • A concern for preseptal or orbital cellulitis.

One connected workflow, not separate lookups

Recognition, management, prescribing, and referral usually live in different tools. In OptoGuide™ they are one path — each step hands off to the next so the decision keeps moving.

  1. Step 1

    Triage the presentation and findings

    Start from the presenting complaint, then the findings — here a lid-swelling pattern with a focal, tender lid lump and localised redness.

    • Localise the lump and confirm it is focal and tender.
    • Check for spreading redness or orbital signs before settling on a benign course.
    Lid swelling findings screen in OptoGuide
  2. Step 2

    Confirm conservative first-line management

    Open the condition for structured guidance — an external hordeolum managed first with warm compresses and lid hygiene, with a topical antibiotic only where indicated.

    • Warm compresses and lid hygiene are the honest first-line — not a default script.
    • The antibiotic is framed as “where indicated”, alongside escalation cues.
    Open the hordeolum workflow
    Hordeolum disease workflow with conservative first-line management
  3. Step 3

    Build the script when it’s warranted

    Where a topical antibiotic is indicated, the drug and directions pre-fill from the condition. You add the patient at the point of care — nothing is stored.

    • The script is offered only where clinically indicated, not by default.
    • Patient details are entered locally and never leave the browser (DEC-007 / DEC-008).
    Open the prescription generator
    Prescription generator pre-filled from the condition
  4. Step 4

    Generate the PBS-format script

    OptoGuide™ prepares the PBS-format prescription — prescriber, patient, drug, and directions filled — ready to print and sign. The clinician reviews, signs, and follows up.

    • A print-ready PBS-format PDF, generated client-side.
    • OptoGuide supports the workflow — it does not diagnose, prescribe, or verify prescribing authority.
    Generated PBS-format prescription PDF (prescriber shown as demo values)
    Prescriber identity shown as demo values; patient is a demo record.

Clinical basis

This guidance reflects standard optometric clinical reasoning based on:

  • Australian optometry clinical practice patterns
  • Australian medicines regulation and PBS prescribing context
  • Common ophthalmology referral standards
  • Evidence-based clinical training and practice
View full clinical basis

Manage the stye — and skip the hand-writing when a script is needed.

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