DoD officials advocated for the firing of Richard Thomas, MD, DDS, president of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
Gen. Lloyd Austin Becomes First African American Defense Secretary
Lloyd J. Austin III made history when the retired four-star general was confirmed as the first African American Secretary of Defense last month.
DoD Targets 8,000 Units of Convalescent Plasma in Battle Against COVID-19
FALLS CHURCH, VA—The DoD has committed to collecting more than 8,000 units of plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 by September 30, 2020. The collection will enable researchers to better understand trends in antibody production in individuals who have...
TRICARE Changes in 2020 Seek to Lower Pharmacy Spending at DoD
The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2000 included a directive for the secretary of defense to establish an integrated pharmacy benefits. Since that time, the pharmacy benefit from TRICARE, the military’s healthcare program, has changed significantly, creating new benefits, strengthening the safety of the drugs it prescribes and having a direct impact on how patients manage their healthcare. Now, changes in copayments, enrollment fees, deductibles and catastrophic caps have been put into place this year in hopes of lowering pharmacy spending, which made up more than half the cost of military healthcare in 2018.
VA/DoD Take On Extensive Research Roles as Coronavirus Cases Wane
WASHINGTON—As the number of cases of COVID-19 seen in hospitals in many states decline, the VA and DoD have turned from active support of overwhelmed facilities to building deeper understanding of the disease and its impacts through new research studies and continued...
VA’s EHR Rollout Indefinitely Delayed by COVID-19 Pandemic
DoD Bidirectional Information Sharing Was Launched, However WASHINGTON—The rollout of VA’s new electronic health record system has been delayed again, this time due to the coronavirus. Just prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States, VA had announced it...
DoD Attacks COVID-19 on Multiple Fronts, Battling Virus in Every State
WASHINGTON—Divide and conquer. The DoD is taking a new tack on the old advice, dividing the huge demand for support across the country among the services and related agencies in an effort to surmount this wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of April, more than...
VA Delays Rollout of DoD-Compatible Electronic Health Record
WASHINGTON—The rollout of VA’s new electronic health record system has been delayed to at least July due to a lack of technology infrastructure and issues surrounding employee training. According to legislators, issues with a timely implementation were apparent as...
Improved Electrocardiogram Screening for Recruits Could Save Lives—and Dollars
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—Despite significant rates of sudden cardiac death in recruits and the devastating impact of SCD on military missions, the DoD discontinued universal electrocardiogram screening for recruits and officer candidates nearly 20 years ago. Now,...
DoD Battles Coronavirus Pandemic on Multiple Fronts
WASHINGTON—The DoD is throwing the weight and experience of the U.S. military into the fight against the novel coronavirus. Navy ships, Army troops, Air Force cargo planes, National Guardsmen and Reserve forces are all being tapped to battle the invisible enemy:...
Air Force Says Changes to F-22 Aircraft Will Let Pilots Breathe Easier in Flight
By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON — Pilots will be able to breathe easier as a result of changes to the oxygen systems in the F-22 aircraft, Air Force officials recently assured a House committee. The F-22 fleet has been under intense scrutiny after some pilots flying the...
Award-Winning Assistance Adviser Fulfills Life Goal of Helping Vets
By Steve Lewis MADISON, WI — At age 21, Jeffrey Unger said he already had a clear vision of what would become one of his lifelong goals — to help returning veterans get the care they needed. “In my life I’ve enjoyed every day I served in uniform,” says Unger, who was...
Air Force Medicine: Averting an Identity Crisis
By Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Travis, Surgeon General, United States Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Travis U.S. military forces, now in the second decade of war, benefit from the vast achievements Army, Navy and Air Force medics have jointly made in deployed and enroute health...
Retired Air Force Urologist, General Officer Urges Doctors to Take Command
By Steve Lewis TEMPLE, TX - Retired Brig. Gen. James T. Turlington, MD, may no longer be an active duty general officer in the Air Force, but he’s still practicing medicine — and still making a difference. In fact, Turlington, a urologist at the Central Texas Veterans...
DoD Budget Seeks to Cut More Than 5,000 Civilian Healthcare Workers Over Five Years
By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON - The DoD plans to cut its civilian workforce by 5% to 6% by the end of fiscal year 2018, including more than 5,000 from the Military Health System. President Barack Obama’s FY 2014 proposed base budget request of $526.6 billion for the...
Once Used to Keep Women from Top Ranks, Menopause Now Managed Within VA, Military Health Systems
When President Harry Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act into law in 1948, it was touted as opening full military service and veterans’ benefits to women, but many restrictions remained in place. Women were not allowed to fly aircraft engaged in...
Schoomaker: Military Personnel Left Confused by Different Evaluation Systems at VA, DoD
WASHINGTON—Despite significant efforts by DoD and VA to revamp the disability evaluation process, the new system remains “complex and adversarial,” the top Army doctor told a congressional subcommittee. DoD and VA agreed on a new disability and evaluation system to...
Fortuitous Mass-Casualty Training at Pentagon Saved Lives 10 Years Ago
Retired Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Paul K. Carlton Jr., right, directs responders after the Pentagon attack Sept. 11, 2011. WASHINGTON — Mass-casualty management planning that occurred at the Pentagon in the months and days before 9/11 helped medical personnel respond...
Medical Lessons Since 911 Impact Patient Care Aeromedical Evacuation
Through more than a decade of sustained combat, the men and women of the Air Force Medical Service have answered our nation’s call and maintained a standard of excellence second to none. Since the war began, the innovations and advancements across the Military Health...
Report Prompted by Fort Hood Shooting Calls DoD Physician Credentialing Inadequate
By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON — Reporting the results of an investigation begun after an Army physician opened fire and shot more than 40 people at Fort Hood in 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the military services need to do a better job of...
Some Military Healthcare Cuts Temporarily Put on Hold for Manpower Review
Original Proposal Would Have Been Detrimental to USUHS WASHINGTON—The DoD’s proposed plan to cut as many as 18,000 military medical billets has been put on hold in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the House and Senate last...
Executive Order Enlists DoD Help in Modernizing Flu Vaccine
WASHINGTON—A new executive order is aimed at increasing the manufacturing efficiency and effectiveness of flu vaccines. The DoD and Department of Health and Human Services are co-chairing a task force in the process of implementing the order signed in September by...
New Comprehensive VA/DoD Guideline Seeks to Stem Tide of Suicides
Servicemembers, Veterans Take Their Own Lives at Higher Rates
WASHINGTON—In recent decades, suicide rates have soared in the United States, increasing 25% from 1999 to 2016.
The issue has been especially acute among military servicemembers and veterans.
Menstrual Suppression Could Help Deployed Women Avoid Discomfort, Inconvenience
The role of women in the military is changing. Whereas they may have acted as support personnel in earlier conflicts, they now play an active part in combat support and counterinsurgency operations.1 As of September 2010, there were 208,271 women on active duty in the...
What Will Be Cost of VA’s Legacy EHR System During Changeover?
WASHINGTON — As VA moves forward with the comprehensive overhaul of its electronic health records system, the department will still need to keep its legacy EHR system functioning well into the next decade. A recent Government Accountability Office report suggests, however, that the costs to do that—already totaling in the billions—may have been underestimated.
DoD acknowledges its medical adverse event reporting is ‘unreliable’
The process for tracking the DoD’s most serious adverse medical events is “fragmented, impeding the Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) ability to ensure that it has received complete information,” according to a new review.
Automation Speeds Results and Increases Accuracy for Point-of-Care Testing at Walter Reed NMMC
With a long history of point of care testing at both of its predecessor organizations, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) laboratory services staff were keenly aware of the advantages of using portable testing devices to obtain rapid patient assessments.
High Rate of Pectoralis Tears Among Deployed Servicemembers Lifting Weights
Lifting weights is one way servicemembers keep in peak physical condition during deployment.
DoD Study Finds That Type 2 Diabetes Increases Breast Cancer Mortality
Having Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM-2) increases mortality risk in breast cancer patients, regardless of whether diabetes was diagnosed before or after breast cancer, according to a recent study.
Now Hear This: Otolaryngologist Leads Effort to Prevent Auditory Issues
Among those who are exposed to combat, it’s the weapons fire that does it. In the Navy, it’s the noise levels in engine rooms and on the decks of carriers.
