The Gateway

On October 28th, The National Museum of Civil War Medicine awarded the MC4 team the 2009 Major Jonathan Letterman Award for Medical Excellence. In 1862, Major Letterman documented the need for detailed medical records for all Soldiers. In honor of his legacy, the award recognized MC4 for fulfilling the EMR initiative on the battlefield.

MC4 accepts this recognition on behalf of medical forces dedicated to the EMR mission.

MC4 welcomes Mr. Tracy Ellis, MC4’s new director of operations. Ellis, a retired Army Colonel, served as the chief of staff for the U.S. Army Materiel Command at Fort Belvoir, Va., and is a former commander of the Tobyhanna Army Depot. He brings to MC4 a wealth of experience as a former Ordnance officer and a multifunctional logistician.

A recently released policy directs Army providers to use two online programs to review medical histories and to maintain continuity of care for deployed Soldiers. AHLTA Warrior provides read-only access to stateside medical data, while Theater Medical Data Store (TMDS) allows clinical folks to review records generated throughout theater.

The policy also directs providers treating behavioral health (BH) issues to request access to the BH module within TMDS, which allows BH providers to communicate with each other.

Active Army, Reserve and National Guard units descended upon Camp Atterbury, Ind., earlier this month to participate in Vibrant Response, a two-week disaster relief training exercise led by NORTHCOM.

In August, MC4 supported the first phase of the exercise at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. During both exercises, units practiced response efforts following the detonation of a nuclear weapon scenario. Units used the latest MC4 EMR 2.1 system to capture medical data, reorder class VIII supplies, as well as assist command and control efforts.

Use of MC4 during field exercises, such as Vibrant Response, offers units the ability to “train as you fight” in preparation of future missions. To schedule MC4 training and support, complete the request form on the MC4 Web site.

Earlier this year, the level III facility at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, transferred command from Canadian forces to the U.S. Navy. With the move came the transition from documenting patient care on paper forms to electronic medical records (EMRs).

MC4’s technical support teams (TSTs) are diligently working with the clinical staff and coalition partners, many of whom have never used MC4 before, providing over-the-shoulder instruction, implementing best practices and assuring incoming personnel don’t miss a beat and can hit the ground running.

The Afghanistan theater presents a unique challenge as coalition medical forces often work in U.S. medical treatment facilities and U.S. providers in coalition medical treatment facilities. Collaborating with sister Services and with NATO partners to do what’s best for Service members in creating a complete medical picture will remain a challenge. Perhaps this exciting effort—U.S. Navy and Canadian providers working side-by-side, using a U.S. Army EMR system—serves as a model of success.