The Gateway

In February, MC4 supported the 424th MEDLOG Company during a five-day certification exercise at Fort Lewis, Wash. It marked the first time that the Fort Lewis training brigade deployed a MEDLOG company for such an exercise.

It was also just the second time that both MC4 and Theater Army Medical Management Information System (TAMMIS) personnel worked together in a exercise. The scenario itself proved realistic and worthwhile.

The company taxed MC4’s MEDLOG capabilities by creating multiple user accounts and populating the system with dozens of requests each day. Unit members taught walk-in customers how to create accounts, search for supplies and place orders in DCAM. Warehouse workers processed orders and prepared pallets, and even loaded them onto a truck for delivery. When the truck returned, they practiced receiving shipments and restocking shelves, documenting all the while in MC4.

Scenarios such as this demonstrate the importance of hands-on experience to better prepare Soldiers to fully utilize MC4 systems. The 424th MEDLOG Company will soon assume responsibility of the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center–Southwest Asia (USAMMC-SWA) mission in Qatar, as well as the management of a forward support team in Kandahar, responsible for supplying units in southern Afghanistan.

Earlier this month, MC4 supported the field training exercise Key Resolve in South Korea. It is one of two major annual training exercises involving all levels of care on the Korean Peninsula. The 121st CSH used MC4 systems to capture inpatient and outpatient records throughout the 44 bed treatment facility during the scenario.

This marked the first time that MC4 was used in a major field exercise in South Korea and I hope to build on this momentum in PACOM moving forward.

Last month, MC4 fielded more than 200 systems to the 2nd Stryker Calvary Regiment (SCR) and taught more than 100 unit members how to record medical information and restock supplies using MC4. We also equipped the Regimental Consolidated Clinic with MC4 laptops to support medical documentation in garrison.

This "train as you fight" effort will help the stryker regiment to become more proficient with the system via daily use in garrison aid stations in Vilseck, Germany. It will also better prepare their medical staff for their mission when it deploys to Southwest Asia (SWA) later this year.

Seven months ago, we began fielding the latest EMR upgrades (EMR 2.1.1.1) and hardware refreshes. Today, we’re 75 percent complete and our technical support teams are currently working the last mile to upgrade units in remote theater locations. We have equipped all level III facilities, as well as units supporting the Multinational Forces and Observers effort in Egypt and units throughout Europe and South Korea.

The feedback I’ve received from theater has been positive. In February, Maj. Daniel Bridon, assistant chief of staff, signal (G6) for Task Force 30th Medical Command presented tangible evidence of the upgrade’s impact at the AMEDD Information Management Conference in Atlanta, Ga. He reported that staff can now transfer outpatient medical records from MC4 systems to the clinical data repository in less than three minutes, as opposed to the two to 24-hour timeframe previously required.

He also stated that incidents of duplicate patient records in Afghanistan dropped from approximately 20 per month to about two per month. This is a result of scanning common access cards and electronically validating the information against a trusted or authoritative data source of military personnel and contractors. He also said the ability for users to view patient diagnoses by the types of injuries admitted and treated is a marked improvement.

I’d like to encourage your feedback on the latest system training and fielding efforts by completing the MC4 User Survey. Your input will be shared in confidence with DHIMS, the EMR software developers, and among our staff for continuous improvement to training and support services.