SAN DIEGO – Naval Medical Center San Diego celebrated the launch of a new electronic health record system, MHS Genesis with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the hospital, Feb. 27.

Before cutting the ribbon, Navy Capt. Brad Smith, NMCSD's commanding officer share remarks thanking the MHS GENESIS team for their hard work.

"You've all done an amazing job and I thank you,” said Smith. “I appreciate all of your hard work and look forward to what's to come."

The hospital's launch of MHS GENESIS followed months of extensive preparation to include staff training, internal infrastructure changes and equipment upgrades. Patients were informed of the change via pamphlets, flyers, social media and provider education during patient visits.

When the electronic health record system is fully launched across the enterprise, all patient records will be found in one single records system. In addition, for the first time ever, all military branches will use one electronic health records system so that no matter where patients receive their care, their records will follow them.

A key feature and benefit for patients is the MHS GENESIS Patient Portal, a one-stop shop for viewing personal health care and history that allows two-way communication between patient and provider. The portal is a secure website for around-the-clock access to individual and family health information, including visit notes, test results, scheduling appointments, and online prescription renewal.

As with other facilities who have already launched MHS GENESIS, patients can expect to see reduced appointment availability during the coming weeks.

"This is necessary to ensure that the provider teams have sufficient time during and between appointments to deliver safe care while navigating the new system," said Navy Capt. Matthew Wauson, NMCSD MHS Genesis lead.

During a brief meeting, Wauson shared that wait times may take longer than usual, however, things should be back to normal soon and encouraged patience and understanding during this time.

MHS GENESIS replaces a patchwork of legacy systems; and will make inpatient and outpatient information instantly available wherever it is needed across the continuum of care, from point of injury to the military medical treatment facility. When fully implemented, each service member, veteran, and family member will have a single health record.

During the 2019 Society of Federal Health Professionals’ annual meeting, Air Force Maj. Gen. Lee Payne, serving as the assistant director for Combat Support at the Defense Health Agency at the time, said the MHS GENESIS implementation process has included careful and comprehensive testing of medical devices, cloud computing resources, and other computer security protocols that make MHS GENESIS "probably the most secure system on the planet right now."

NMCSD is one of many military treatment facilities across the DOD to implement MHS GENESIS. Full deployment of this new electronic health records system is expected to be complete by 2023 and serve more than nine million beneficiaries.

NMCSD employs more than 6,000 active-duty military personnel, civilians and contractors in Southern California to provide patients with world-class care anytime, anywhere.

Visit navy.mil/local/sd/ or facebook.com/NMCSD for more information