Job Description:
KANSAS COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
Kansas Health Science University, Inc. · 217 E. Douglas Ave., Wichita, KS 67202
CONTRACTOR OPPORTUNITY — REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
OPTOMETRIC DIRECTOR (OPTOMETRY LEAD)
Rural Health Transformation Program — Posting No. RHTP-2026-01
Issued: October 30, 2026 · Responses due: November 13, 2026, 5:00 p.m. Central
1. Background
The Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM), a college of Kansas Health Science University, Inc., is the recipient of a Rural Health Transformation Program award from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, under KDHE Subaward Agreement No. 332072-001-15 (Federal Assistance Listing 93.798, Rural Health Transformation Program; Federal Award Identification No. RHTCMS332072-01-02). The project deploys autonomous artificial-intelligence diabetic retinopathy screening at up to seven rural primary-care and Federally Qualified Health Center sites in Kansas, and a robotic telehealth slit lamp for remote ophthalmic examination at a rural clinical site. KansasCOM is seeking qualifications from licensed optometrists interested in serving as Optometric Director on a part-time, independent-contractor basis for a fixed fee. This opportunity is posted publicly on kansascom.org and may also be sent directly to qualified individuals.
2. Role and Scope of Services
The Optometric Director will provide administrative and clinical-quality oversight of the diabetic retinopathy screening program across all participating sites. The engagement is administrative and quality-oversight in nature: the Optometric Director does not examine, diagnose, or treat patients, and does not interpret individual patient images, under this engagement. Clinical decisions about patients remain with the treating providers at the sites. The Optometric Director will:
1. Provide oversight of diabetic retinopathy screening quality at participating sites, including review of image-quality and positive-screen metrics and recommendation of corrective action.
2. Establish, document, and manage the referral workflow for patients with positive or ungradable screening results at each site, including closed-loop tracking of completed referrals to eye-care providers, and ensure appropriate compliance with scheduled subspecialty appointments.
3. Work with site clinical leadership to integrate screening and referral into existing diabetic care-management programs and EHR workflows; serve as the clinical representative in EHR/IT integration planning.
4. Develop and maintain written, program-level guidance for site staff on the meaning of the screening-result categories (negative, positive, ungradable) and standard patient-communication language for each; support alignment of screening protocols across sites. The Optometric Director does not advise on any individual patient’s results or care.
5. Participate in site onboarding and training with the Clinical Trainer; provide clinical input to the IRB-approved protocol and the program evaluation; contribute to data interpretation, reports to KDHE, and dissemination.
6. Participate in project team meetings (about twice monthly).
3. Engagement Terms
• Type: independent contractor agreement with a statement of work and a fixed fee. The contractor is responsible for his or her own taxes and benefits (IRS Form 1099).
• Fee: a fixed fee of $30,000 for the services described above over the full term, paid in equal monthly installments. Effort is expected to average approximately 0.2 FTE, spread over the term as the work requires and heaviest during site onboarding; the fee is not adjusted for hours actually worked.
• Term: the grant performance period, October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
• Travel to sites outside Sedgwick County is reimbursed at actual cost at the State of Kansas travel rates required by the grant (lodging and meals up to the U.S. GSA per diem rates for the…