CIO Report

Charles M. Campbell
Military Health System
Chief Information Officer

There was a time when we did not even dream of texting or using social media in place of writing letters or flipping through the pages of a newspaper. But just because we didn’t dream it originally doesn’t mean it is not our current reality.

Our entire society is more mobile today than ever before in our history, demanding instant access to information, and the Department of Defense is keeping pace with societal demands for real-time information.

Servicemembers and their families deserve to have health records that are as mobile as they are, and President Barack Obama recognizes this, as evidenced by his call for the “virtual lifetime electronic record.”

The president’s announcement on April 9 is exciting to the military IM/IT world because it wants to improve the continuity of care and services to current health care beneficiaries and transitioning veterans through electronic health records.
 
A virtual lifetime health record extends far beyond a single database or system. It will involve multiple systems that seamlessly interact and share data with each other. This type of health record will enhance the availability of administrative and health care information for both DoD and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

DoD has long been a leader in developing electronic health record systems and datasharing systems to improve the transfer of information and quality of health care delivery for servicemembers, their families and veterans.

DoD has been working closely with the VA to share data and improve interoperability of the electronic records systems, and now the Military Health System (MHS) is moving immediately toward implementing a common services approach with the VA to help make the health care portion of the virtual lifetime electronic record a reality.

Since 2001, both DoD and the VA have been working together to improve data sharing and electronic records systems. Leaders from both departments view the virtual lifetime electronic record as a major step forward toward this end.

In the National Defense Authorization Act of fiscal year 2008, section 1635, the establishment of the DoD/VA Interagency Program Office was required to accelerate data sharing between the two departments. These initiatives enhance health care delivery to beneficiaries and improve the continuity of care for those who have served the country.

In addition, DoD and the VA are collaborating to quickly develop the approach for achieving the virtual lifetime electronic record and are defining the common services needed by building on current, robust information-sharing programs and infrastructure to expand existing initiatives. DoD is leveraging industry best practices to provide an environment with links to new and legacy applications through service-oriented architecture, using common services where applicable.

The MHS will continue to expand its current interoperability and begin implementing a common services approach immediately. It will continue to make improvements to the military’s electronic health record, AHLTA, to enhance its performance, reliability and usability. Those improvements include a customizable, userfriendly unified graphical user interface and enterprise service bus based on a common services approach.

The MHS is excited about the roll out of AHLTA-dental by the MHS. It is the military’s first integrated dental and medical electronic health record. The integration of medical and dental information creates opportunities to reinforce health promotion and disease prevention, and better manage the total care of servicemembers. Aside from the dental component, AHLTA will continue to morph with technology and the user’s input.

The way ahead for AHLTA is incremental replacement with open standards and open architectures.  The MHS will continue to improve AHLTA until the system is incrementally replaced and incorporated into the virtual lifetime electronic record.

The state-of-the-art technology in this multiyear effort addresses existing and emerging needs by accelerating update deployments. The current electronic health record contains an enormous single database that grows by 640,000 encounters every week, so it is no small feat to replace it even through incremental means.

Implementing a new modern architecture that reuses the best of current system capabilities and replaces inefficient tools and processes allows the MHS to work effectively toward the health portion of the president’s goal of a virtual lifetime electronic record.

It ensures the MHS keeps pace with the needs of the brave men and women in uniform who rely on DoD and the VA for health care delivery, benefits and services.

Visit www.health.mil to learn more about the MHS or the CIO’s efforts. For more information, contact Karen Roberts, director, MHS OCIO Communications at (703) 681-8836. ♦

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