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. Source-cited clinical reference; not individually clinician-reviewed.
Clinical decision support only
Red flags: assess urgently before anything else
A focal, tender lid lump is usually benign. Spreading or orbital features support urgent escalation; a recurrent same-site or destructive lid-margin lesion supports referral for malignancy assessment rather than repeated routine stye care.
- Diffuse spreading erythema or oedema rather than a focal lesion, or fever and systemic upset.
- Proptosis, painful or restricted eye movement, diplopia, or reduced vision — raises concern for cellulitis.
- A lesion that recurs at the same site or does not resolve as expected.
- Lash loss, lid-margin distortion, ulceration, or atypical pigmentation.
One connected workflow, not separate lookups
Recognition, management, prescribing, and referral usually live in different tools. In OptoGuide™ they are one path, and each step hands off to the next so the decision keeps moving.
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.
- Confirm a focal, tender, erythematous or pustular nodule centred on a lash follicle or external lid-margin gland.
- Separate it from a deeper tarsal swelling and from a painless chronic chalazion — the management differs.
- Check for diffuse spreading erythema or orbital signs before settling on a benign course.
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.
- Escalate rather than repeat routine care if the lesion spreads or orbital features appear.
- Refer for malignancy assessment if it recurs at the same site, fails to resolve as expected, or shows lash loss, lid distortion, ulceration, or atypical pigmentation.
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).
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.
Illustrative example — prescriber identity and patient are demo values.
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
Manage the stye — and skip the hand-writing when a script is needed.
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