To obtain copies of Office of the Assistant Inspector General for Auditing Reports, contact the Secondary Reports Distribution Division of the Audit Followup and Technical Support Directorate at (703) 604-8937 or FAX (703) 604-8932.
Who Should Read This Report and Why? Medical planners, transportation specialists, and managers who are involved in the administration, implementation, and oversight of the DoD patient movement system should read this report.
Background. This report discusses the aeromedical evacuation process from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom theaters of operation. Aeromedical evacuation is the transportation of patients under medical supervision to and between medical treatment facilities by air transportation.
Results. For FY 2004, there were about 28,500 worldwide patient movement requests of which approximately 11,350 (40 percent) represented the U.S. Central Command area of operations. For our limited review of 53 patient movement requests from the U.S. Central Command, the DoD patient movement system provided timely evacuation of patients from the combat zone that were consistent with theater commander and aeromedical patient movement priorities. Because of the timeliness of the patient movements reviewed during our limited review and other ongoing initiatives such as the Medical Readiness Review that may impact the patient movement system, we are concluding our audit.
Management Comments and Audit Response. Although no comments were required, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) concurred with the audit finding and conclusion. No additional comments are required. Management provided comments and information that they believe are valid and would strengthen the report. Although we found no reason to disagree with the additional information, the scope of our audit work did not allow us to report on the issues raised. See the Finding section of the report for a discussion of management comments and the Management Comments section of the report for the complete text of comments.
Any comments or suggestions should be sent to: auditnet@dodig.mil