Today, guest blogger Col. (Dr.) Donald Gagliano, director of the DoD/VA Vision Center of Excellence, explains what the center is all about.
The Vision Center of Excellence (VCE) is a newly formed, intergovernmental effort between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The mission of the VCE is to continuously improve the health and quality of life for members of the armed forces and veterans through advocacy and leadership in the development of initiatives focused on the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, research and rehabilitation of disorders of the visual system.
The VCE has been established as an intergovernmental program office for vision, comprised of five broad divisions: Informatics and Information Management, Clinical Care, Research and Surveillance, Rehabilitation and Restoration and Global Outreach. The center’s primary focus areas include the development of the Defense and Veterans Eye Injury Registry (DVEIR), enhancement of the electronic health record for vision, patient care support, provider education, research, and strategic outreach and these commitments have shaped its infrastructure needs and the prioritization of its recruitment efforts.
The DVEIR will track the occurrence, treatment and outcomes of all eye injuries or visual dysfunction experienced by service members who have served on active duty since September 11, 2001. The DVEIR will be the first major registry linking the DoD's health information system, AHLTA, with the VA's health information system, VISTA, the Veterans Health Information System and Technology Architecture. Data collected in the DVEIR will allow the VCE to develop initiatives to focus research more effectively, evaluate DoD/VA health care processes, and establish guidelines for care, among other improvements. A recent collaboration, led by the VCE resulted in the development of vision research priorities for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program.
As the VCE evolves, the DVEIR and other initiatives will increase awareness of eye injuries and visual dysfunction throughout the services and veterans' organizations, foster promising research and provide a more seamless transition of care within and between DoD and VA.
August is Eye Health Month, and we’ve set up a page full of healthy tips and resources to help you see things a little clearer. Check it out at www.health.mil/eyehealth.
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