Open AccessThe Defense Medical Surveillance System and the Department of Defense Serum Repository: Glimpses of the Future of Public Health Surveillance
Author(s) -
Mark V. Rubertone,
John F. Brundage
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.92.12.1900
Subject(s) - public health , public health surveillance , medical surveillance , health surveillance , service (business) , medicine , service member , medical emergency , military personnel , environmental health , computer security , political science , business , computer science , law , pathology , marketing
The Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS) is the central repository of medical surveillance data for the US armed forces. The DMSS integrates data from sources worldwide in a continuously expanding relational database that documents the military and medical experiences of service members throughout their careers. The Department of Defense Serum Repository (DoDSR) is a central archive of sera drawn from service members for medical surveillance purposes. Currently, the DMSS contains data relevant to more than 7 million individuals who have served in the armed forces since 1990, and the DoDSR contains more than 27 million specimens that are linkable to data in the DMSS. Recent applications of the DMSS and DoDSR provide glimpses of the capabilities and uses of comprehensive public health surveillance systems.