Teleophthalmology in the United States Army: A Review From 2004 Through 2018

We describe results of the U.S. Army Ocular Teleconsultation program from 2004 through 2018 as well as the current condition, benefits, barriers, and future opportunities for teleophthalmology in the clinical settings and disease areas specific to the U.S. Military.

This was a retrospective, noncomparative, consecutive case series. A total of 653 ocular teleconsultations were reviewed; 76 concerned general policy questions and underwent initial screening to determine the year each request was received, the average and median initial consultant response time, the number of participating consultants, the country from which the request originated, the military status and branch of each U.S. patient for which a request was submitted, and the nationality, age, and military status of foreign patients for whom consults were requested. The remaining 577 requests were further analyzed to determine the diagnostic category of the request, whether or not an evacuation recommendation was provided by a consultant, the relationship of the request to trauma, if and what type of nonocular specialty consultant(s) participated in the consultation request, and if and what type of ancillary imaging accompanied the request.

The number of requests was 13 in 2004, compared to 80 in 2011 and 11 in 2018. The average response time in 2018 was 2.27 hours compared to 9. 73 hours in 2004. The number of participating ocular specialists was 5 in 2004, compared to 39 in 2013 and 13 in 2018. Requests originating from Iraq and Afghanistan comprised 61.1% (399/653) of requests. The U.S. Army personnel comprised the largest percentage of consults at 38.6% (252/653). Nonmilitary patients from the USA accounted for 18.5% (121/653) of consults. Non-U.S. patients including coalition forces, contractors, detainees, and noncombatants accounted for 14.4% (94/653) of consults, of which 22% (21/94) were children. Anterior segment consults accounted for 45.1% (260/577) of consults, with corneal surface disease being the largest subset within this diagnostic category. Evacuation was recommended in 22.7% (131/577) of overall cases and 41.1% (39/95) of trauma cases. Requests were associated with either combat-related or accidental trauma in 16.5% (95/577) of cases. Dermatology and neurology were the most commonly co-consulted specialties, representing 40.0% (32/80) and 33.75% (27/80) of consults, respectively. Photographs of suspected ocular pathology accompanied 37.4% of consults, with the likelihood requesters included photographs being greatest in cases involving pediatric ophthalmology (7/9, 77.8%) and oculoplastics (86/120, 71.7%).

Army teleophthalmology has been an indispensable resource in supporting and advancing military medicine, helping to optimize the quality, efficiency, and accessibility of ophthalmic care for U.S. Military personnel, beneficiaries, allied forces, and local nationals worldwide. A dedicated ophthalmic care and coordination system which utilizes new advances in teleconsultation technology could further enhance our current capability to care for the ophthalmic needs of patients abroad, with opportunity for improving domestic care as well.