CIO Focuses on Independence
Independence Day brings celebrations throughout our nation, and while we celebrate, we should also remember the thousands of men and women who serve in remote parts all around the world – whether it be the young private standing guard duty along the demilitarized zone in South Korea or the Air Force master sergeant servicing aircraft at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
One of the ways that the Office of the Chief Information Officer supports these men and women is by ensuring their electronic health records, and those of all our beneficiaries remain complete, reliable, accurate, maintainable and timely. To demonstrate our commitment to these goals, the OCIO hosted an open house in Falls Church, Va. earlier this month, to showcase our current EHR and other cutting edge healthcare information technology and information management systems.
The day-long “EHR Today” Open House featured technical demonstrations from the OCIO’s program offices including the Defense Health Information Management System, Defense Health Services Systems, the Tri-Service Infrastructure Management Program Office, the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program and representatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The open house provided the systems’ users, beneficiaries, military leaders, health care providers, Veterans, members of the media and other stakeholders with a better understanding of how the MHS OCIO’s key capabilities, latest initiatives and successes benefit our Service members and all our beneficiaries.
I was particularly proud of this event because it is important for us to show the American public all that the Military Health System is doing to advance our information technology and information management capabilities. Our achievements provide tangible results that impact the treatment and health of our Service members and their families every day, no matter where they are located around the world.
And while most our Service members serving in conflicts overseas will return home unscathed to continue their military or civilian careers, there are others who are not so lucky. Returning home with debilitating injuries and illnesses, they may go through months or years of recovery and rehabilitation, struggling to maintain their independence.
To help during times such as these, the CAP provides assistive technologies and other occupational services. Since 1990, the OCIO’s CAP has helped thousands of disabled Service members and federal employees regain their independence.
The Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program provides assistive technologies and accommodations to federal government employees and Wounded Service Members; more than 87,000 accommodations have been provided since the program’s inception twenty years ago. CAP has a formal partnership with 66 different federal agencies to provide accommodations for employees at no charge to the agency. CAP actively collaborates with partner agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, to support the hiring, placement, and promotion of people with disabilities. In support of Wounded Service Members, CAP collaborates with Military Treatment Facilities and organizations such as the Department of Defense Wounded Warrior Program to support Service members through all phases of their recovery and rehabilitation. These collaborative efforts, along with CAP’s provision of over 18,000 accommodations for Wounded Service Members, empowers our nation’s Wounded Warriors for continued employment whether they continue on active duty or separate from the military.
It’s that type of service to our beneficiaries and to our nation that makes me proud to serve and humbled by those who defend our freedoms daily.
Not only this Fourth of July, but on every day I will celebrate and honor their service and sacrifices that bring independence and freedom that endures.
To find out more, go to www.health.mil/MHSCIO or www.tricare.mil/cap.
By Charles Campbell, Military Health System Chief Information Officer