Nearly 15 years ago, as the U.S. entered into the war on terror, military medical personnel noticed a problem. Too many National Guard and Reserve troops showing up to deploy were ill-prepared medically for the mission. Now, thanks in part to the Reserve Health Readiness Program (RHRP), the rate of medical readiness for the overall force is at its highest level ever, and guard and reservists are more prepared when called upon. In addition, post-deployment assessments are making sure guard and reservists are OK when they return to their homes.

“Medical readiness is above 85 percent for more than 500,000 service members in the guard and reserves for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, as well as a few active-component TRICARE PrimeA managed care option available in Prime Service Areas in the United States; you have an assigned primary care manager who provides most of your care.TRICARE Prime RemoteA managed care option for active duty service members and their families who live in designated remote locations in the U.S. (usually more than 50 miles or one hour's drive time from a military hospital or clinic).Tricare Prime Remote service members, such as recruiters,” said Public Health Service Cmdr. April Kidd, director of RHRP.

Reserve and guard units get RHRP services through regularly scheduled readiness group events or on an as-needed basis. Those service members preparing to deploy are examined, especially for dental care, and their vaccinations are updated. Scheduled group events are generally done during guard and reserve drill weekends. In addition, service members can be seen through individually vouchered in-clinic services, using the more than 16,000 civilian medical facilities in the vast contractor network. Finally, a call center is available that can complete some aspects of assessments, especially post-deployment and mental health assessments. Individual units determine the timing of these events, and RHRP provides the logistical support to make sure those units have what they need.

“The reserve and guard have a limited number of medical staff to take care of their folks. And with the few medics they have, those units often want the medics focusing on downrange activities, not on examining or immunizing the members deploying with them,” explained Dr. Brian Sugden, deputy director of RHRP. “We provide another option for the service components to meet their medical and dental readiness needs.”

More than a year ago, mental health assessments using behavioral health questions were added to Periodic Health Assessments for the active component Army. In June, RHRP began conducting these mental health assessments with the Army Guard and Reserve. While the feedback has been limited so far, Kidd indicates that implementation has gone well, and she expects the other services to adopt it into their regular health assessments for all service members. Separation Health and Physical Examinations—assessments done for members leaving the military—will also be standardized across the services and become part of RHRP’s set of provided exams.

Another important aspect of the program is how it standardizes care with quality assurances, even though each service might have some unique requirements. RHRP monitors how medical evaluations are done and compares that to already established requirements to make sure the members of each component are getting required assessments and services. In addition, RHRP monitors quality control measures, such as how vaccines are handled, how quickly documents are uploaded electronically into the systems after services are rendered, and even wait times at in-clinic facilities and on the phone. The bottom line: more guard and reserve will be medically ready for whatever mission, wherever they are sent.

“We offer a service to make sure readiness requirements are met,” said Kidd. “RHRP gives units the tools they need for that medically ready force.”

Learn more about the Reserve Health Readiness Program.