Every doctor, nurse and medic begins his or her career in the Military Health System the same way: years of education and training to prepare them for the challenges they will face. Once they begin caring for service members and TRICARE beneficiaries, they count on having the most up-to-date electronic tools for recording, storing, sharing and analyzing patients’ health information.  

These capabilities took center stage at a recent “Review and Analysis” meeting facilitated by the Defense Health Agency’s Research and Development (R&D) directorate. Doctors and researchers from across MHS and the Department of Veterans Affairs discussed recent developments in medical simulation and information sciences. They received several presentations delivered by members of Joint Program Committee 1 (JPC-1), a group of scientists and technical experts focused on these topics.

Presenters pointed to highlights like the Advanced Modular Manikin (AMM) project, which is moving through the prototype phase of development. The goal of the project is to create a highly modifiable mannequin to realistically simulate a wide variety of medical challenges using different, interchangeable body parts. A successful device would allow doctors and medics to sharpen their skills in diagnosing, resuscitating and stabilizing casualties with survivable wounds. Limb attachments and torso inserts for training in stopping internal and external bleeding or clearing a patient’s airway are just a few of the possibilities.

“These kinds of advancements in medical simulation and modeling are improving our ability to effectively train current and future generations of military medical professionals,” said Dr. Kelley Brix of the R&D directorate, who helped organize the meeting. “There are still certain situations where simulation isn’t perfect, but innovations like the AMM continue to lessen our reliance on older training methods and move us toward the future.”

The Defense Health Agency is working hard to ensure that the priorities of the Army, Navy and Air Force are all reflected in its research efforts.

“The overall medical simulation and training strategy program is making a significant impact on the MHS, and on the simulation community by addressing joint military medical needs that the services have identified” added Dr. Kevin Kunkler, the program’s director.

JPC-1 has invested significantly in research into information science, also known as informatics. Researchers discussed why effective management of patients’ health information is essential throughout the continuum of care, from theater and operational medicine all the way to care for beneficiaries who transition to the VA system. Important developments like a new interoperability standard that helps make medical devices easier to use (“plug-and-play”) anywhere in the world are being studied to help address this need.

Experts noted the MHS’s electronic health record announced in 2015, MHS GENESIS, has reshaped their work.

“MHS GENESIS is opening up lots of opportunities for us to innovate in health information science,” said Dr. Rauch, director of Research and Development Policy and Oversight within the office of the assistant secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. “As we standardize our approach to electronically collecting and storing medical data across the entire MHS, we’re going to explore creating an anonymized digital biobank that can support cutting-edge research on the genetic factors that influence our health. And we’ll be able to collaborate with the VA in similar initiatives like its Million Veteran Program.”

Brix summed up her thoughts on the outcome of the event: “It’s clear that our researchers are making great strides in preparing our doctors and medics with the next generation of essential tools in medical simulation and information science.”