About the Data: Military Health System (MHS)

Where the data come from

The VEHSS analysis of the MHS data was conducted by the Defense Health Agency's (DHA) Vision Center of Excellence (VCE). The VCE provides and coordinates vision and eye care services for military service members and veterans. VCE analyzed data in the U.S. Military Health System (MHS), which is operated by the Department of Defense (DOD). The MHS serves active-duty service members of all branches of the U.S. military, National Guard and Reserve members, military retirees, and their eligible family members. TRICARE, which is the MHS health care program, provides comprehensive medical, dental, and pharmacy coverage to beneficiaries through a network of military treatment facilities and civilian healthcare providers.

The MHS Management Analysis and Reporting Tool (MART) Database is a data management and reporting system used by the MHS to support decision-making, healthcare analysis, and operational reporting. The MART integrates from various sources within the MHS to provide a centralized repository for healthcare data, facilitating access to information that aids in managing healthcare services, resources, and performance across the MHS.

Analysis overview

VCE analyzed data in MART by applying VEHSS case definitions for diagnosed eye disorders. VCE calculated prevalence of diagnosed eye and vision disorders and the proportion of patients receiving covered eye care services in MHS based on the presence of ICD-10 diagnosis codes on any patient claim or encounter during the year of observation. VCE provided summary prevalence values to the VEHSS team for incorporation into the VEHSS Data Explorer and Data Portal.

VEHSS reports summary prevalence and counts for the topics and categories listed for each geographic level and stratification factor listed below:

Included VEHSS categories

• Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
• Cataract
• Diabetic Retinopathy (DR)
• Diagnosed Vision Disorders
• Glaucoma
• Other Eye Disorders

Available geographic levels

• National
• State

Data definitions

Included stratification factors

A detailed description of the analytical steps is described in the report "."

Full analysis documentation is included in the "."

Potential limitations

• These estimates are based on claims and encounter data that may suffer from bias or limited detail.
• Enrollees and their dependents could be insured by multiple insurers, such as Medicare or commercial medical or vision insurance. Services covered by other payers are not represented in the MHS data..
• The sample includes active-duty service members and retired military members, and their dependents. This sample is not representative of the general population, nor service members alone.
• The MHS data analyzed for this analysis do not include Veterans Administration (VA) data.
• These prevalence results do not include undiagnosed or untreated eye conditions.