Skip to main content

Military Health System

Test of Sitewide Banner

This is a test of the sitewide banner capability. In the case of an emergency, site visitors would be able to visit the news page for addition information.

DHA proves power of collaboration in medical IT war games

Image of Men and women in room sitting in front of their laptops. The NATO Joint Force Training Centre in Bydgoszcz, Poland, hosted the 2019 Coalition Warrior Interoperability Exercise. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, CWIX 2020 was held virtually in secure locations worldwide. (NATO courtesy photo)

The Defense Health Agency was a lead player in medical information technology scenarios during the 2020 Coalition Warrior Interoperability Exercise. CWIX involved 22 NATO nations and partners participating in scenarios to identify, test, and resolve technical issues to ensure future success of NATO missions.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's event was held virtually for two and half weeks at secure locations in more than 60 countries.

“Federated interoperability continues to be a priority for NATO and allied nations," said Mark Goodge, co-chair of the NATO Health Information Systems & Technology Working Group. " Leveraging technology is more important than ever for improved patient care, operational efficiencies, and decision-making," he added.

Three medical IT scenarios took place with the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the NATO Communications and Information Agency participating. One scenario involved quickly and securely transmitting patient health information, medical records, and treatment provided to wounded service members from point of injury to all levels of care, including back to the home nation.

Another scenario tested functionality to evacuate sick, ill, and injured service members to military medical treatment facilities with available beds during a mass casualty situation.

A third scenario involved providing infectious disease reports to monitor disease spread and severity. "Information like isolate patients, do not send more patients to that area – this is the kind of command and control that information planners need to have, providers need to have, when you're talking about movement of patients and various roles in areas of operation," Goodge said.

The scenarios were run using OpenAHLTA, an open-source electronic health record (EHR) donated by the DHA. "It's served us very well over the last couple of decades," Goodge said, noting that OpenAHLTA is free, performs in environments with low or no communications, and uses the latest standard medical language terminology.

The EHR is a force multiplier to enhance medical readiness, response, and interoperability, said Goodge, noting that some countries still rely on paper medical records. Paper records are a risk to security and continuity of care. Paper records can result in the loss of vital medical information and the potential for medical errors, he noted.

The CWIX scenarios "proved to be a major evolutionary leap in a very quick fashion for the adoption of a platform that exists and has served the United States very well in our roles in theater combat support and operations for health care," Goodge said. "We were able to transmit real-time information. You simply can't move paper this fast and get this much situational awareness without an electronic medium."

Goodge said the successful scenarios demonstrated the power of collaboration among NATO and partner nations, commitment to innovation and continuous improvement for the well-being of service members, and the importance of using international health informatics standards.

The CWIX scenarios were videotaped and can be viewed on YouTube.

You also may be interested in...

Provider Resilience Three Steps to Self Care

Publication
8/6/2020

This infographic outlines three primary steps in supporting self care and resilience in health care providers.

Force Health Protection Guidance (Supplement 12) -Department of Defense Guidance for Personnel Traveling During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Publication
8/6/2020

This memorandum supplements requirements in references (a), (b), and (c) with respect to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and replaces reference (d). It provides pre- and post­travel guidance for purposes of force health protection (FHP) of Service members, DoD family members, DoD civilian employees, and DoD contractor personnel.

Supplemental Guidance 10 for Military Medical Treatment Facilities and Military Dental Treatment Facilities Directors in regards to Coronavirus Disease 2019

Publication
7/1/2020

Virtual Health Patient FAQs

Publication
6/19/2020

Frequently asked questions for patients on the use of virtual health technology to receive health care.

Virtual Health Myth vs Fact

Publication
6/19/2020

Review of the myths and facts on the use of virtual health technology to deliver health care.

Virtual Health Provider FAQs

Publication
6/19/2020

Frequently asked questions for health care providers on the use of virtual health technology in clinical practice.

Communication to ABA Providers Regarding Continued Temporary Authorization to Utilize Telehealth for CPT Code 97156 During the COVID-19 National Emergency

Publication
6/3/2020

TRICARE is announcing the continuation of the temporary exception to policy regarding the use of synchronous telehealth (TH) capabilities (both audio and video) for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Family Adaptive Behavior Treatment Guidance services specifically during this COVID-19 pandemic.

Force Health Protection Guidance (Supplement 9) -Department of Defense Guidance for Deployment and Redeployment of Individuals and Units during the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Publication
5/26/2020

This memorandum provides force health protection (FHP) deployment and redeployment guidance for Service members (including Reserve Component (RC) and National Guard members in a title 10 or title 32 duty status) and DoD civilian employees deploying within and outside the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, consistent with references (a) and (b).

Guidance for Commanders on Risk-Based Changing of Health Protection Condition Levels During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Publication
5/20/2020

This memorandum provides guidance for commanders to consider when making decisions to change health protection condition (HPCON) levels as COVID-19 pandemic conditions on and adjacent to our installations begin to improve.

Resuming Elective Surgical, Invasive, and Dental Procedures in Military Medical and Dental Treatment Facilities

Publication
5/19/2020

This memorandum provides guidance on how each Military Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) and Dental Treatment Facility (DTF) may resume elective medical and dental procedures.

Modification and Reissuance of DoD Response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 -Travel Restrictions

Publication
4/20/2020

All DoD Service members will stop movement, both internationally and domestically, while this memorandum is in effect. All DoD civilian personnel, and dependents of DoD Service members and DoD civilian personnel, whose travel is Government-funded will stop movement, both internationally and domestically, while this memorandum is in effect.

Implementation Guidance for Presidential Memorandum, "Providing Federal Support for Governor's Use of the National Guard to Respond to COVID-19 ," Dated April 7, 2020

Publication
4/14/2020

Benefits Eligibility for 32 USC 502(f) Missions

Publication
4/14/2020

A chart outlining the various Benefits Eligibility for 32 USC 502(f) Missions

Memorandum on Providing Federal Support for Governors' Use of the National Guard to Respond to COVID-19

Publication
4/14/2020

Delegation of Authority for Reserve Component Activation Authorities during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Response

Publication
4/10/2020

This delegation assigns to the Service Secretaries the authority to activate Reserve Component personnel and to modify their orders as needed to employ and retain them for the COVID-19 response.

Page 2 of 5 , showing items 16 - 30
First < 1 2 3 4 5 > Last 
Refine your search
Last Updated: August 15, 2022
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery