Traumatic brain injuries impact more and more of our Service members each year. Because of the wide reach of TBI, the military health information technology community is joining Defense Centers of Excellence and other federal agencies in making March Brain Injury Awareness month.

TBI covers a range of injuries. Concussions, or mild TBI, can result from sports or training accidents. At the other end of the scale are severe injuries that require surgery and result in extended unconsciousness or amnesia and significant long-term effects.

The military’s largest demographic group -- males between the ages of 18 and 24 -- are at the greatest risk for experiencing TBI, according to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. Service members experience an added risk due to the dangerous nature of many operational and training activities. Explosive blasts, jolts, blows to the head and vehicle accidents can all result in TBI.

The Military Health System health information technology community is dedicated to supporting our Service members and health care providers by providing them with the tools to assist in the diagnosis, management and treatment of these brain injuries.

For example, application upgrades by the Army Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care to the electronic health record systems now used in Iraq and Afghanistan are currently underway and will provide better methods for capturing and reporting mild TBI data. Ninety percent of TBIs are mild, but repeated injuries can result in more severe and lasting damage. By improving the reporting of these injuries, the health IT community is improving health care for our 9.6 million beneficiaries.

Our military health IT community continues its mission of improving TBI care by developing the Neurological Cognitive Assessment Tool. NCAT captures baseline neurocognitive assessments that may aid in the detection and diagnosis of mild TBI by comparing results across current, baseline and normative populations. The infrastructure supported by military health IT enables care providers to treat TBI patients across vast distances.

In addition to developing software and maintaining infrastructure, the military health IT community supports treatment of TBI through the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program. CAP provides many forms of assistive technology to TBI patients who may suffer from a range of symptoms affecting their physical and cognitive abilities.

Brain injuries are frequently referred to as “invisible injuries.” But there is nothing invisible when these serious injuries impact a person’s cognitive function, memory or motor skills.

By highlighting TBI this month, we hope to highlight the significance of this serious injury, and showcase some of the many IT programs and initiatives that support the Service members who live with it.

By Acting Chief Information Officer Air Force Col. Portia Prioleau