DHA VCE DASS

The Vision Center of Excellence (VCE) faced a significant challenge in developing a congressionally mandated vision registry capable of collecting and analyzing longitudinal eye injury and vision dysfunction data from both Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) medical records. As stakeholders relied on this registry to enhance ocular care, optimize medical readiness, and improve patient outcomes, the complexity of data integration and classification became increasingly critical.

The absence of policies governing specific metrics at the time of care created additional difficulties in retrospective analysis, making it challenging to extract meaningful insights from incomplete or inconsistent records. To ensure the registry was an effective tool for research and clinical decision-making, a data-driven solution was required.

As a subcontractor for KaiHonua, 4S-Silversword Software and Services, LLC provided data architecture and analytics support to strengthen the vision registry’s functionality and optimize its analytical capabilities. The team implemented advanced statistical analysis, clinical research methodologies, and sophisticated data modeling techniques to improve tracking of ocular injuries, patient flow, and risk factors for vision-related conditions.

One key innovation was the development of a classification model that allowed multiple perspectives from clinicians to overlay data, eliminating the need for a single authoritative classification. This approach enabled medical professionals to quickly adopt different classification models, improving flexibility and responsiveness in research and clinical analysis.

To address challenges in retrospective analysis, the team created "potential indicators" that could compensate for missing diagnosis codes. This methodology assigned patients a probability of having specific medical conditions based on available data, reducing false positives and negatives while providing a more accurate representation of patient health trends. The firm’s technological expertise, including proficiency in SAS, R, SQL Server, PowerBI, Excel, Tableau, and OpenText, allowed for seamless data processing, classification, and visualization, ensuring stakeholders had access to insightful and reliable analytics.

Through the implementation of advanced data analytics and modeling techniques, 4S-Silversword enabled the VCE to enhance data accuracy, improve classification processes, and facilitate more effective patient tracking. The ability to analyze ocular injury data in relation to transport records provided critical insights into discrepancies in medical assessments, helping improve care strategies.

The team also developed a historical match model that aligned clinical expertise and supply availability with injury severity, strengthening readiness planning for medical personnel. Assessing patient flow from DoD to VA allowed VCE to identify gaps in care coordination, improving the transition between military and veteran healthcare systems.

Additionally, the identification of high-risk patients for vision loss enabled targeted preventative measures and treatment strategies, enhancing long-term patient outcomes.

By expanding the registry’s capabilities and ensuring a data-driven approach to ocular health, 4S-Silversword helped the Vision Center of Excellence provide more actionable insights to stakeholders, ultimately contributing to better medical decisions and improved vision-related healthcare.

4S-Silversword’s expertise in data architecture and analytics strengthened the Vision Center of Excellence’s ability to track, analyze, and predict ocular health trends. By enhancing classification models, refining retrospective analysis, and optimizing patient tracking, the firm empowered clinicians and researchers with actionable insights, ultimately improving medical readiness and care outcomes for service members and veterans.