We use apps for almost everything these days - driving, shopping, gaming and keeping in touch with friends and family.
Why not use apps and other online resources for our health care?
The future of health care technology was a common theme for leaders from the Defense Health Agency who spoke at the Association of the United States Army's Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., Oct. 11 and 12.
DHA Director Army Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Ronald Place; Regina Julian, chief of DHA's Healthcare Optimization Division; and DHA Assistant Director Dr. Brian Lein spoke about the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the use of digital tools for the Military Health System and its 9.6 million beneficiaries.
DHA Director Army Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Ronald Place
"The pandemic has changed much of the way that we work, the way that we go to school, get our healthcare, shop, interact - really, innumerable things," said Place, who was the keynote speaker for the AUSA Family Forum panel discussion entitled "Quality of Life at Your Fingertips."
Place shared his thoughts on how to evaluate virtual tools for military families in the present digital landscape, some of which have their genesis in the current pandemic.
"These are exciting times," Place said. "And the developments that emerged or accelerated during the pandemic will be sustained and strengthened where it allows us to better serve our families."
These developments present opportunities to enhance quality of life for soldiers and families, and also have the potential to increase job opportunities for spouses and family members in virtual settings.
Place compared digital health care to digital banking in the sense that, although many things can be done online or on an app, there is still a need for face-to-face interaction in many cases.
"Even though most financial activity is transactional and can be managed through virtual platforms," he said, "there is still a need for person-to-person relationship interactions when things go wrong, or the transactions become increasingly complex."