May 01, 2014
On January 2, 2013, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was signed into law, leading to the creation of the Defense Health Agency (DHA) and the establishment of enhanced Multi-Service Markets (eMsM). Such legislation reflects a significant governmental shift to elevate the Military Health System (MHS) to a more integrated organization. This transition has the opportunity to improve the future healthcare of our nation’s military ranks, but will likely face a series of obstacles that require thoughtful, multifaceted solutions.
In response to this MHS transformation, my colleagues and I authored “Transforming the Military Health System: Competencies, Checklists and Questions to Consider.” The paper identifies several of the most pressing challenges inherent to this restructuring process and provides MHS leaders with guidelines and best practices aimed at addressing these issues. It also highlights four areas of competencies which I see as vital to the future success of the DHA’s continued evolvement:
1. People: The ongoing MHS transformation will affect HR across the full lifecycle, from recruitment to transitioning, and at every level: governance/leadership, roles, responsibilities, rewards and incentives. The DHA needs a complete understanding of its workforce to successfully adapt to this new structure.
2. Processes: Military training facilities (MTFs) must undergo integration to align clinical service areas and to create an efficient and seamless experience for patients along the care continuum. These changes will require an evaluation of existing processes and strategies for optimizing care delivery.
3. Technology: Technology will be key to enabling seamless, efficient, high-quality care across facilities and the care continuum as well as appropriately increasing information liquidity among healthcare providers and patients.
4. Infrastructure: Transformation will force individual MTFs to make big changes in terms of care provisioning and capacity. This restructuring could result in enhanced efficiency and quality care while providing the opportunity for cost savings.
At Booz Allen, I’m focused on helping our clients identify and implement the improvements in healthcare programs so that they provide the greatest benefit to U.S. service members and their families. We’re excited to see how these four key competencies that we see as essential for best-in-class care, are used to enable action.
