…but I play one in real life! Medical information technology is moving at such as a rapid pace, we sometimes fail to stop and look around. This month is often observed as Military Medical Technologies Month, a perfect time to highlight some of the work our partner organizations are doing to merge science and technology for deployable Soldiers.
Check out what Telehealth and Technology (T2) is up to. Aside from developing and fielding some award winning apps, like the Mood Tracker and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) Pocket Guide, they’re actively involved in delivering capabilities to improve behavioral health downrange.
T2 also has a hand in the new capability being released by Military Pathways to assist Soldiers with mental health and alcohol concerns. They’ve launched a new web-based tool called Video Doctors that provides Soldiers with helpful information on risk factors associated with these health concerns.
In the past several weeks we’ve been highlighting telehealth. If you haven’t had a chance yet, I recommend reading Col. Ron Poropatich’s blog about expanding telehealth in Afghanistan. As the deputy director for the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), he and his group remain at the forefront of new technology and will be blogging on The Gateway more regularly, so stay tuned.
On the MC4 side, I recently attended a technology transition integrated process team meeting in San Antonio. There, vendors demonstrated their latest tools for medics and other first responders to use downrange to assist in capturing health care data. I even got a chance to try out some of the equipment for size.
We’re continually on the lookout for hardware and software that will improve health care documentation, medical logistics capabilities and enhance training efforts. In fact, we’ll be spotlighting Col. Aaron Silver, the Defense Health Information Management System (DHIMS) program manager, soon. He’ll cover the latest projects DHIMS has underway and what, if any, changes may be coming down the pike for TC2. I’m looking forward to hearing about any new capabilities that may be fielded in the near future. Stay tuned for this feature in the upcoming issue of The Gateway Monthly.