The DoD’s MHS Genesis EHR implementation has made significant progress, with 75% of clinics and hospitals using the system. The department is on schedule to complete the project by March 2023, including the integration of overseas military treatment facilities. The MHS Genesis EHR system will enable patient-centered care and provide a lifetime record of the patient, from when someone enters the military, all the way through service with Veterans Affairs. Valuable lessons learned from initial setbacks have led to improvements in management and IT deployment practices.
The Federal EHR Modernization (FEHRM) project has faced several challenges in its implementation. Nevertheless, the Defense Health Agency (DoD) has made significant progress with its MHS Genesis EHR implementation, with approximately 75% of DoD clinics and hospitals currently using the system. The number of users stands at 160,000, and the number of beneficiaries in the system is 6.1 million to date. The department is scheduled to complete the project, including the integration of overseas military treatment facilities (MTFs), by March of next year.
According to Holly Joers, executive program officer for Defense Healthcare Management Systems, the transition to the MHS Genesis EHR system is not merely about replacing a legacy system. It brings new capabilities to bear, creating a lifetime record under the single common federal EHR, enabling patient-centered care. The record about the patient, not where care is delivered, will allow for new insights into population health, the medical readiness of the force, and ensuring that service members and their families receive adequate care.
However, the MHS Genesis EHR implementation has had a rough start. In February 2017, DoD introduced MHS Genesis at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington state, followed by the Naval Hospital Oak Harbor, the Naval Hospital Bremerton, and Madigan Army Medical Center. The Office of the Secretary of Defense released a report indicating that the MHS Genesis EHR system implementation at Initial Operating Capability (IOC) care sites in the Pacific Northwest was operationally ineffective or inappropriate. Clinicians and administrative staff were concerned about the potential patient safety risks of the EHR system’s significant shortcomings.
Despite the initial setbacks, the DoD has made significant progress, and the deployment process has seen significant improvements. The valuable lessons learned from the challenges faced led to a shift in their management and IT deployment practices. Joers highlighted the importance of governance and management processes to hear different inputs and make an enterprise standard that might not match what they’re currently doing today.
Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, MD, former director of the Defense Health Agency (DHA), commended the health IT implementation’s progress as one of the agency’s “top six points of pride” for 2021. A place noted that the MHS Genesis EHR system is transformative by design to help improve patient safety, communication, and ultimately better health outcomes.
Overall, the DoD has made significant progress with the MHS Genesis EHR implementation, and the project is currently progressing well. The integration of overseas military treatment facilities (MTFs) is on track to be completed by March next year. The MHS Genesis EHR system will enable patient-centered care, and a lifetime record about the patient, from when someone accesses the military, all the way through service with Veterans Affairs, will be available. This will allow for new insights into population health, the medical readiness of the force, and ensuring that service members and their families receive adequate care.
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