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GCN Home > 06/21/04 issue

Defense medical records system is rolling out ahead of schedule

By Dawn S. Onley, GCN Staff

Defense Department officials say military units are already ahead of schedule in meeting a recent mandate by President Bush for federal agencies to keep electronic health records of personnel and their families.

Under the president’s Health IT Plan, federal officials have until August to review programs and propose ways to incorporate electronic health initiatives into their medical support systems.

But DOD already has an electronic health system running at several sites and is working to improve it.

“We have been working diligently on the electronic transformation of the military health system,” said Dr. William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of Defense for health affairs. “For more than 10 years, we have had a computerized physician order-entry capability that enables our providers to order lab tests and radiology exams and issue prescriptions electronically.”

CHCS II

That capability is being enhanced with the Composite Health Care System II program.

Over the next 30 months, the Defense Department will log about 9 million military members and beneficiaries into CHCS II, which at full deployment will be available at 100 hospitals and 500 clinics. In January, the DOD began rollout and has deployed CHCS II to seven medical centers in the United States. This year, officials expect to complete rollout at 40 sites.

“We believe we have the first secure, scalable system that’s patient-centric,” said Dr. Robert Wah, a Navy Medical Corps captain who has worked on CHCS II. “CHCS II addresses every one of the president’s points that he made in his executive order.”

Such a large-scale implementation schedule, which DOD has accelerated from its original 36-month time frame, hasn’t been without its challenges, officials say. For example, Defense has faced obstacles in moving patient records from the old Composite Health Care System I to the new database.

The two systems rely on different data models and data integrity requirements, said Larry Albert, senior vice president and health care practice leader at Integic Corp. of Chantilly, Va. Integic is the prime contractor and is serving as developer and systems integrator for CHCS II.

Defense uses more than 100 clinical information systems to keep track of military medical records. When patients moved from base to base, they had to carry their medical records with them, Albert said.

More news on related topics: Business Process Management, Defense IT