martin.html

<html>
<head>
<title>Untitled Document</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
</head>

<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<table border="0" width="642" align="CENTER">
  <tr>
    <td height="496" valign="TOP">
      <div align="CENTER">
        <h2><font color="#004080">Leading Medical Information<br>
          Technology into Y2K </font><br>
        </h2>
      </div>
      <table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="5">
        <tr>
          <td width="41%" height="310"><img src="images3/martin.jpg" width="300" height="350"></td>
          <td valign="TOP" width="59%" height="310">
            <div align="CENTER">
              <font size="2"><font size="1"><b><font color="#800000">Dr. Edward
              Martin </font></b></font></font>
            </div>
            <p align="CENTER"><font color="#800000"><b><font size="1">Acting Assistant
              Secretary of Defense<br>
              for Health Affairs</font></b></font><b></b>
            <p><font size="1"><i><br>
              Dr. Edward Martin serves as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense
              for Health Affairs and as the Principal Advisor to the Assistant
              Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs). In the latter position, held
              since December 1992, Dr. Martin has been responsible for providing
              day-to-day executive management and oversight for all DoD health
              policies, programs and activities within the Military Health System
              (MHS).<br>
              This is his second term as ASD (HA), his previous term running from
              January 1993 until March 1994. His arrival at the Pentagon was the
              result of 15 years of experience in positions such as the Public
              Health Service and the Department of Health and Human Services.
              He was commissioned in the Public Health Service in May of 1975
              and currently holds the rank of Rear Admiral.<br>
              Though he will be retiring this year, he agreed to discuss his vision
              and his legacy in an interview with MMT's Eleni Kavros.</i></font><i></i>
          </td>
        </tr>
      </table>
      <hr size="1">
      <br>
      <font size="+2" color="#004080"><b>Q.</b></font><font size="+2" color="#004080">
      </font><font color="#004080"><b>With the development of new technologies
      such as the LSTAT, the digital dog tag and the ASSTC project, we are seeing
      better and faster ways to care for our injured and ailing soldiers. What
      new technologies do you think ASD (HA) should be pursuing as a means of
      serving soldiers and their families? </b> </font>
      <p><br>
        <b><font size="+2" color="#800000">A.</font> Digitization of Radiology:</b>
        Medical Diagnostic Imaging Support (MDIS)-exploits teleradiology techniques
        in combination with a Picture Archive and Communications System (PACS)
        to increase the amount of information captured from radiographs.<br>
        Life Support for Trauma and Transport (LSTAT): A compact, transportable,
        individualized medical care unit, featuring a suite of integrated state-of-thc-art
        treatment and diagnostic technologies. The LSTAT provides a means of projecting
        sophisticated trauma care forward towards the site of injury. This will
        increase survivability rates by reducing the time to delivery of life-saving
        definitive care.<br>
        <b>Advanced Surgical Suite for Trauma Care (ASSTC)/ Multipurpose Health
        Services Facility (MHSFP):</b> Developed in order to bring an emergency
        surgeon supported by a necessary staff and facility as close as possible
        to the site of injuries for aggressive life saving and casualty stabilization.
        Can be moved in a V-22, slingloaded and/or trailer moved.<br>
        <b>Medical Personal Information Carrier (PIC):</b> Issued to each serviceman
        and woman, will contain vital information about their health status. In
        a deployed situation, for example, health care providers may access this
        information, render appropriate treatment and record it directly to the
        PIC.<br>
        <b>Computerized Patient Record:</b> A platform-independent medical record
        system that will ensure immediate continuity, distribution and accessibility
        of medical information from the forward battlefield to the rear-echelon
        support in United States-based medical centers. The information will be
        archived in multimedia databases and be available over a worldwide telecommunications
        system for real-time, interactive collaboration among physicians.<br>
        <b>Personnel Status Monitor:</b> A wearable biomedical device that combines
        processing functions with micro-electro-mechanical systems. Each soldier
        could wear a thin belt-like band that could measure such parameters as
        temperature, heart rate, breath-mg rate and mean arterial blood pressure.
        The command unit for this would be able to tell if the individual was
        dead or alive and give details of their physiological state.
      <p><font size="+2"><b><font color="#004080">Q.</font></b></font><font color="#004080"><b>
        What are the top three automation priorities for the Military Health System?
        How long will it take to implement them?</b></font><b></b>
      <p><br>
        <font size="+2"><b><font color="#800000">A.</font></b></font> My top three
        automation priorities for the Military Health System are a Computer-based
        Patient Record (CPR), a Preventive Health/Immunization Tracking system
        and a Personal Information Carrier (PIC).<br>
        Patient records in the Department of Defense (DoD) military health system
        are currently paper-based. The Department is developing a longitudinal,
        comprehensive, CPR that will document the health status of each eligible
        beneficiary and the healthcare received. Ultimately, the CPR will completely
        replace the current paper record and will offer new capabilities that
        will improve the quality of care rendered by healthcare providers and
        enable the rapid transfer of clinically relevant data between and among
        providers.<br>
        Efforts to build a healthy community, to deliver a healthy and fit force
        and to manage the health of a population will be facilitated by the Preventive
        healthcare System (PHCS). The PHCS will allow providers to deliver, track
        and report appropriate and timely delivery of clinical preventive services.<br>
        An interim version of immunization tracking is being deployed by the Services
        now to support the anthrax program. Data from the immunization-tracking
        module will provide the immunization elements of the CPR.<br>
        The Personal Information Carrier (PIC) leverages promising technology
        to overcome the challenge of imperfect medical record keeping and documentation,
        especially during deployments. The PIC is a small, rugged, tag-like device
        that will be the primary repository of medical force-protection data to
        include individual readi-ness data, deployable status, casualty prevention
        training, medical history, problem list and demographic information. The
        device will be carried by service members and updated by medical personnel
        whenever the service member is examined or treated.
      <p><font size="+2"><b><font color="#004080">Q.</font></b></font><font color="#004080"><b>
        Because funding has been increasingly more difficult to acquire over recent
        years, specifically for the DoD, what do you think will happen to the
        military medical technology budget? How will that outcome affect technolog-ical
        advances such as telemedicine?</b></font><b></b>
      <p><br>
        <font size="+2"><b><font color="#800000">A.</font></b></font> I expect
        the military medical tech-nology budget to remain fairly constant in future
        years. In January 1997, Health Affairs established a set of mission essential
        goals the Military Health System (MHS) must reach prior to the close of
        this century in order to accomplish the DoD health mission. Since then,
        the MHS lnformation Management (IM) community has assessed where the currently
        are in relation to these goals and specifically what remains to be done.
        Military Health System Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT)
        oversight and management committees have approved the resulting MHS IM/IT
        Mission Essential Require-ments (MER) and related funding recommendations.
      <p><font size="+2"><b><font color="#004080">Q.</font></b></font><font color="#004080"><b>
        The Corporate Executive Information System (CEIS) has been labeled as
        the foundation for your healthcare information man-agement strategy. what
        is the sta-tus of GElS and what role will it play in some of your latest
        projects?</b></font><b></b>
      <p><br>
        <b><font size="+2" color="#800000">A.</font></b> The Corporate Executive
        Information System (GElS) is a joint Service and Health Affairs initiative.
        It is an enterprise system that will provide decision-makers at all levels
        of the MHS with a suite of decision support analytical tools and other
        capabilities, needed to support TRIGABE and Readiness. It is an investment
        in our ability to mect future business demands and it is essential for
        the success of Enrollment Based Capitation.<br>
        CEIS is providing decision-makers with analytical and trending capabilities
        using patient-level and aggregated data extracted and integrated from
        population, workload and costing source data collection Systems such as
        the Defense Enrollment Eligibility System (DEERS), Medical Expense and
        Performance Reporting System (MEPRS) and Composite healthcare System (CHCS).<br>
        Work to date has focused on the needs ofthe Medical Treatment Facilities
        and the TRICARE Regions. The next stage begins with the building and fielding
        of the Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW), which will directly support all
        levels of the MHS.
      <p><img src="images3/report1.jpg" width="584" height="403"> <font size="-1"><br>
        The ASSTC/MHSFP will help bring an emergency facility with medical support
        staff as close as possible to the site of injuries. </font></p>
      <p><br>
      <p>&nbsp;
      <p><font size="+2"><b><font color="#004080">Q.</font></b></font><font color="#004080"><b>
        The Theater Medical Infor-mation Program is one of five key business areas
        in the military medical vision. How will TMTP fit into the overall MHS
        architecture? </b></font><b></b>
      <p><b><font size="+2" color="#800000">A.</font></b> TMIP is our key effort
        in bringing medical information systems and infrastructure to the deployed
        forces. TMIP is assisting in the development of our Defense Information
        Infrastructure (DII) Common Operating Environment architecture by building
        in the foundation of Windows NT. TMIP is responsible for integrating the
        other business areas into an interoperable system that ties the theater
        operational area of responsibility to the sustainment base. TMIP has the
        additional challenge of providing the architecture that works through
        the use of the Services' deployed architecture using the Global Combat
        Support System and Global Command and Control System.
      <p>&nbsp;
      <p>&nbsp;
      <p><img src="images3/report2.jpg" width="585" height="247"><br>
      <font size="-1">Integral to the evacuation process, medical helicopters
        such as this will be used for emergency evacuation in conjunction with
        the latest medical technologies such as the LSTAT and the ASSTG. </font></p>
      <p><font size="+2"><b><font color="#004080">Q.</font></b></font><font color="#004080"><b>
        How do the AKAMAI and PACMEDNET (Pacific Medical Network) projects address
        the issues of the electronic patient record and deployable telemedicine?
        Where are the projects headed?</b></font><b></b>
      <p><br>
        <font size="+2"><b><font color="#800000">A.</font></b></font> The <a href="pacmed_main4.html" target="">Pacific
        Medical Network (PACMEDNET)</a> and the <a href="akamai_main4.html">AKAMAI
        Telemedicine Project</a> are distinct though complimentary efforts. PACMEDNET
        focuses on creating information sharing between and among heterogeneous
        databases as well as identifying the location of the information unique
        to each patient. Through creation of an interface engine, PACM EDNET has
        successfully shared information between multiple Composite healthcare
        System sites and the Department of Veteran's Affairs Vista System (formerly
        Defense healthcare Program). Through creation of a Master Subject Index
        (MSI ), the project has provided electronic pointers to patient intormation
        through use of a Master Patient Locator. To insure appropriate protection
        of patient information the MSI also tracks provider access privileges
        to virtual data through the Master Provider Index.<br>
        The AKAMAI project enhances the healthcare delivery system and improves
        military readiness in the Pacific Basin Region by projecting the medical
        specialty expertise of <a href="www.tamc.amedd.army.mil">Tripler Regional
        Medical Center</a> and other regional hubs to remote sites though the
        use of medical technologies and telecommunications capabilities. This
        is accomplished by investigating clinically relevant applications of emerging
        telemedicine related products, technologies and services.<br>
        Further, the Project has a major effort to evaluate telemedicine's impact
        on the healthcare delivery system and military readiness. This includes
        clinical outcomes, organizational impact, human factors behavior, cost
        benefit analysis and patient and physician satisfaction.
      <p><font size="+2"><b><font color="#004080">Q.</font></b></font><font color="#004080"><b>
        Many supporters of telemedicine are beginning to wonder if telemedicine
        should be controlled by one federal agency. Is ASD (HA) looking to be
        the agency to lead the nation's telemedicine efforts?</b></font>
      <p><br>
        <font size="+2"><b><font color="#800000">A.</font></b></font> DoD wants
        to take the lead in Battlefield Telemedicine.
      <p><font size="+2"><b><font color="#004080">Q.</font></b></font><font color="#004080"><b>
        The military medical com-munity has been hearing rumors that you plan
        to retire this spring. What enduring legacy will you leave to OSD (HA)
        and the MHS as a whole?</b></font><b></b>
      <p><br>
        <font size="+2"><b><font color="#800000">A.</font></b></font> The Information
        Management/ Information Technology Program Evolution.<br>
        Working in concert with the Surgeons General, the Military Health System
        (MHS) Strategic Principles were developed to provide a universal foundation
        for creation of the Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT)
        Program. A committee of senior executives representing the Secretary of
        Defense and the Military Departments was formed to provide a focused and
        unified information management policy for the execution of the program
        in support of the mission of Health Affairs and the MHS. This committee
        aligned the program with National Security Objectives, goals of the National
        Command Authority and directions of Congressional and industry leaders.
        The IM/IT Program was framed to meet the new challenges of supporting
        not only the critical Medical Readiness mission of the Department, but
        also the formidable task of providing day-to-day healthcare to the beneficiaries
        of the MHS in its evolving managed care environment. The program was designed
        to ensure that the right information was provided to the right people
        at the right time to improve and maintain health status across the entire
        continuum of healthcare operations.<br>
        The evolution of the IM/IT Program has witnessed many profound changes.
        The relationship of OSD and the Services has been restructured and the
        roles of the Army, Navy and Air Force Surgeons General enhanced and expanded.
        As a result, the MHS information management landscape has been permanently
        changed. The IM/IT Program can claim many successes resulting from its
        evolution. One of the more important ones is the radically reengineered
        business process of the Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support Program
        to adopt just-in-time inventory concepts, electronic commerce, universal
        product numbers and best price determination. Through implementation of
        the Prime Vendor Program, Health Affairs has become a leader in DoD and
        industry in the implementation of Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data
        Interchange. The strengths of the TM/IT Program foundation have been tested
        though the requirement to evaluate and implement cutting-edge technology
        in the MHS.
      <p><img src="images3/report3.jpg" width="600" height="587">
      <br><font size="-1">Force protection is at the top of the list for OSD (HA).
        Troops such as ones pictured here will soon be receiving immunizations
        against biological agents such as anthrax.</font></p>
    </td>
  </tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>
	<html>
	<head>
	<title>Untitled Document</title>
	<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
	</head>

	<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
	<table border="0" width="642" align="CENTER">
	<tr>
	<td height="496" valign="TOP">
	<div align="CENTER">
	<h2><font color="#004080">Leading Medical Information<br>
	Technology into Y2K </font><br>
	</h2>
	</div>
	<table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="5">
	<tr>
	<td width="41%" height="310"><img src="images3/martin.jpg" width="300" height="350"></td>
	<td valign="TOP" width="59%" height="310">
	<div align="CENTER">
	<font size="2"><font size="1"><b><font color="#800000">Dr. Edward
	Martin </font></b></font></font>
	</div>
	<p align="CENTER"><font color="#800000"><b><font size="1">Acting Assistant
	Secretary of Defense<br>
	for Health Affairs</font></b></font><b></b>
	<p><font size="1"><i><br>
	Dr. Edward Martin serves as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense
	for Health Affairs and as the Principal Advisor to the Assistant
	Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs). In the latter position, held
	since December 1992, Dr. Martin has been responsible for providing
	day-to-day executive management and oversight for all DoD health
	policies, programs and activities within the Military Health System
	(MHS).<br>
	This is his second term as ASD (HA), his previous term running from
	January 1993 until March 1994. His arrival at the Pentagon was the
	result of 15 years of experience in positions such as the Public
	Health Service and the Department of Health and Human Services.
	He was commissioned in the Public Health Service in May of 1975
	and currently holds the rank of Rear Admiral.<br>
	Though he will be retiring this year, he agreed to discuss his vision
	and his legacy in an interview with MMT's Eleni Kavros.</i></font><i></i>
	</td>
	</tr>
	</table>
	<hr size="1">
	<br>
	<font size="+2" color="#004080"><b>Q.</b></font><font size="+2" color="#004080">
	</font><font color="#004080"><b>With the development of new technologies
	such as the LSTAT, the digital dog tag and the ASSTC project, we are seeing
	better and faster ways to care for our injured and ailing soldiers. What
	new technologies do you think ASD (HA) should be pursuing as a means of
	serving soldiers and their families? </b> </font>
	<p><br>
	<b><font size="+2" color="#800000">A.</font> Digitization of Radiology:</b>
	Medical Diagnostic Imaging Support (MDIS)-exploits teleradiology techniques
	in combination with a Picture Archive and Communications System (PACS)
	to increase the amount of information captured from radiographs.<br>
	Life Support for Trauma and Transport (LSTAT): A compact, transportable,
	individualized medical care unit, featuring a suite of integrated state-of-thc-art
	treatment and diagnostic technologies. The LSTAT provides a means of projecting
	sophisticated trauma care forward towards the site of injury. This will
	increase survivability rates by reducing the time to delivery of life-saving
	definitive care.<br>
	<b>Advanced Surgical Suite for Trauma Care (ASSTC)/ Multipurpose Health
	Services Facility (MHSFP):</b> Developed in order to bring an emergency
	surgeon supported by a necessary staff and facility as close as possible
	to the site of injuries for aggressive life saving and casualty stabilization.
	Can be moved in a V-22, slingloaded and/or trailer moved.<br>
	<b>Medical Personal Information Carrier (PIC):</b> Issued to each serviceman
	and woman, will contain vital information about their health status. In
	a deployed situation, for example, health care providers may access this
	information, render appropriate treatment and record it directly to the
	PIC.<br>
	<b>Computerized Patient Record:</b> A platform-independent medical record
	system that will ensure immediate continuity, distribution and accessibility
	of medical information from the forward battlefield to the rear-echelon
	support in United States-based medical centers. The information will be
	archived in multimedia databases and be available over a worldwide telecommunications
	system for real-time, interactive collaboration among physicians.<br>
	<b>Personnel Status Monitor:</b> A wearable biomedical device that combines
	processing functions with micro-electro-mechanical systems. Each soldier
	could wear a thin belt-like band that could measure such parameters as
	temperature, heart rate, breath-mg rate and mean arterial blood pressure.
	The command unit for this would be able to tell if the individual was
	dead or alive and give details of their physiological state.
	<p><font size="+2"><b><font color="#004080">Q.</font></b></font><font color="#004080"><b>
	What are the top three automation priorities for the Military Health System?
	How long will it take to implement them?</b></font><b></b>
	<p><br>
	<font size="+2"><b><font color="#800000">A.</font></b></font> My top three
	automation priorities for the Military Health System are a Computer-based
	Patient Record (CPR), a Preventive Health/Immunization Tracking system
	and a Personal Information Carrier (PIC).<br>
	Patient records in the Department of Defense (DoD) military health system
	are currently paper-based. The Department is developing a longitudinal,
	comprehensive, CPR that will document the health status of each eligible
	beneficiary and the healthcare received. Ultimately, the CPR will completely
	replace the current paper record and will offer new capabilities that
	will improve the quality of care rendered by healthcare providers and
	enable the rapid transfer of clinically relevant data between and among
	providers.<br>
	Efforts to build a healthy community, to deliver a healthy and fit force
	and to manage the health of a population will be facilitated by the Preventive
	healthcare System (PHCS). The PHCS will allow providers to deliver, track
	and report appropriate and timely delivery of clinical preventive services.<br>
	An interim version of immunization tracking is being deployed by the Services
	now to support the anthrax program. Data from the immunization-tracking
	module will provide the immunization elements of the CPR.<br>
	The Personal Information Carrier (PIC) leverages promising technology
	to overcome the challenge of imperfect medical record keeping and documentation,
	especially during deployments. The PIC is a small, rugged, tag-like device
	that will be the primary repository of medical force-protection data to
	include individual readi-ness data, deployable status, casualty prevention
	training, medical history, problem list and demographic information. The
	device will be carried by service members and updated by medical personnel
	whenever the service member is examined or treated.
	<p><font size="+2"><b><font color="#004080">Q.</font></b></font><font color="#004080"><b>
	Because funding has been increasingly more difficult to acquire over recent
	years, specifically for the DoD, what do you think will happen to the
	military medical technology budget? How will that outcome affect technolog-ical
	advances such as telemedicine?</b></font><b></b>
	<p><br>
	<font size="+2"><b><font color="#800000">A.</font></b></font> I expect
	the military medical tech-nology budget to remain fairly constant in future
	years. In January 1997, Health Affairs established a set of mission essential
	goals the Military Health System (MHS) must reach prior to the close of
	this century in order to accomplish the DoD health mission. Since then,
	the MHS lnformation Management (IM) community has assessed where the currently
	are in relation to these goals and specifically what remains to be done.
	Military Health System Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT)
	oversight and management committees have approved the resulting MHS IM/IT
	Mission Essential Require-ments (MER) and related funding recommendations.
	<p><font size="+2"><b><font color="#004080">Q.</font></b></font><font color="#004080"><b>
	The Corporate Executive Information System (CEIS) has been labeled as
	the foundation for your healthcare information man-agement strategy. what
	is the sta-tus of GElS and what role will it play in some of your latest
	projects?</b></font><b></b>
	<p><br>
	<b><font size="+2" color="#800000">A.</font></b> The Corporate Executive
	Information System (GElS) is a joint Service and Health Affairs initiative.
	It is an enterprise system that will provide decision-makers at all levels
	of the MHS with a suite of decision support analytical tools and other
	capabilities, needed to support TRIGABE and Readiness. It is an investment
	in our ability to mect future business demands and it is essential for
	the success of Enrollment Based Capitation.<br>
	CEIS is providing decision-makers with analytical and trending capabilities
	using patient-level and aggregated data extracted and integrated from
	population, workload and costing source data collection Systems such as
	the Defense Enrollment Eligibility System (DEERS), Medical Expense and
	Performance Reporting System (MEPRS) and Composite healthcare System (CHCS).<br>
	Work to date has focused on the needs ofthe Medical Treatment Facilities
	and the TRICARE Regions. The next stage begins with the building and fielding
	of the Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW), which will directly support all
	levels of the MHS.
	<p><img src="images3/report1.jpg" width="584" height="403"> <font size="-1"><br>
	The ASSTC/MHSFP will help bring an emergency facility with medical support
	staff as close as possible to the site of injuries. </font></p>
	<p><br>
	<p>
	<p><font size="+2"><b><font color="#004080">Q.</font></b></font><font color="#004080"><b>
	The Theater Medical Infor-mation Program is one of five key business areas
	in the military medical vision. How will TMTP fit into the overall MHS
	architecture? </b></font><b></b>
	<p><b><font size="+2" color="#800000">A.</font></b> TMIP is our key effort
	in bringing medical information systems and infrastructure to the deployed
	forces. TMIP is assisting in the development of our Defense Information
	Infrastructure (DII) Common Operating Environment architecture by building
	in the foundation of Windows NT. TMIP is responsible for integrating the
	other business areas into an interoperable system that ties the theater
	operational area of responsibility to the sustainment base. TMIP has the
	additional challenge of providing the architecture that works through
	the use of the Services' deployed architecture using the Global Combat
	Support System and Global Command and Control System.
	<p>
	<p>
	<p><img src="images3/report2.jpg" width="585" height="247"><br>
	<font size="-1">Integral to the evacuation process, medical helicopters
	such as this will be used for emergency evacuation in conjunction with
	the latest medical technologies such as the LSTAT and the ASSTG. </font></p>
	<p><font size="+2"><b><font color="#004080">Q.</font></b></font><font color="#004080"><b>
	How do the AKAMAI and PACMEDNET (Pacific Medical Network) projects address
	the issues of the electronic patient record and deployable telemedicine?
	Where are the projects headed?</b></font><b></b>
	<p><br>
	<font size="+2"><b><font color="#800000">A.</font></b></font> The <a href="pacmed_main4.html" target="">Pacific
	Medical Network (PACMEDNET)</a> and the <a href="akamai_main4.html">AKAMAI
	Telemedicine Project</a> are distinct though complimentary efforts. PACMEDNET
	focuses on creating information sharing between and among heterogeneous
	databases as well as identifying the location of the information unique
	to each patient. Through creation of an interface engine, PACM EDNET has
	successfully shared information between multiple Composite healthcare
	System sites and the Department of Veteran's Affairs Vista System (formerly
	Defense healthcare Program). Through creation of a Master Subject Index
	(MSI ), the project has provided electronic pointers to patient intormation
	through use of a Master Patient Locator. To insure appropriate protection
	of patient information the MSI also tracks provider access privileges
	to virtual data through the Master Provider Index.<br>
	The AKAMAI project enhances the healthcare delivery system and improves
	military readiness in the Pacific Basin Region by projecting the medical
	specialty expertise of <a href="www.tamc.amedd.army.mil">Tripler Regional
	Medical Center</a> and other regional hubs to remote sites though the
	use of medical technologies and telecommunications capabilities. This
	is accomplished by investigating clinically relevant applications of emerging
	telemedicine related products, technologies and services.<br>
	Further, the Project has a major effort to evaluate telemedicine's impact
	on the healthcare delivery system and military readiness. This includes
	clinical outcomes, organizational impact, human factors behavior, cost
	benefit analysis and patient and physician satisfaction.
	<p><font size="+2"><b><font color="#004080">Q.</font></b></font><font color="#004080"><b>
	Many supporters of telemedicine are beginning to wonder if telemedicine
	should be controlled by one federal agency. Is ASD (HA) looking to be
	the agency to lead the nation's telemedicine efforts?</b></font>
	<p><br>
	<font size="+2"><b><font color="#800000">A.</font></b></font> DoD wants
	to take the lead in Battlefield Telemedicine.
	<p><font size="+2"><b><font color="#004080">Q.</font></b></font><font color="#004080"><b>
	The military medical com-munity has been hearing rumors that you plan
	to retire this spring. What enduring legacy will you leave to OSD (HA)
	and the MHS as a whole?</b></font><b></b>
	<p><br>
	<font size="+2"><b><font color="#800000">A.</font></b></font> The Information
	Management/ Information Technology Program Evolution.<br>
	Working in concert with the Surgeons General, the Military Health System
	(MHS) Strategic Principles were developed to provide a universal foundation
	for creation of the Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT)
	Program. A committee of senior executives representing the Secretary of
	Defense and the Military Departments was formed to provide a focused and
	unified information management policy for the execution of the program
	in support of the mission of Health Affairs and the MHS. This committee
	aligned the program with National Security Objectives, goals of the National
	Command Authority and directions of Congressional and industry leaders.
	The IM/IT Program was framed to meet the new challenges of supporting
	not only the critical Medical Readiness mission of the Department, but
	also the formidable task of providing day-to-day healthcare to the beneficiaries
	of the MHS in its evolving managed care environment. The program was designed
	to ensure that the right information was provided to the right people
	at the right time to improve and maintain health status across the entire
	continuum of healthcare operations.<br>
	The evolution of the IM/IT Program has witnessed many profound changes.
	The relationship of OSD and the Services has been restructured and the
	roles of the Army, Navy and Air Force Surgeons General enhanced and expanded.
	As a result, the MHS information management landscape has been permanently
	changed. The IM/IT Program can claim many successes resulting from its
	evolution. One of the more important ones is the radically reengineered
	business process of the Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support Program
	to adopt just-in-time inventory concepts, electronic commerce, universal
	product numbers and best price determination. Through implementation of
	the Prime Vendor Program, Health Affairs has become a leader in DoD and
	industry in the implementation of Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data
	Interchange. The strengths of the TM/IT Program foundation have been tested
	though the requirement to evaluate and implement cutting-edge technology
	in the MHS.
	<p><img src="images3/report3.jpg" width="600" height="587">
	<br><font size="-1">Force protection is at the top of the list for OSD (HA).
	Troops such as ones pictured here will soon be receiving immunizations
	against biological agents such as anthrax.</font></p>
	</td>
	</tr>
	</table>
	</body>
	</html>