U.S. military’s health agency invites proposals for digital transformation initiative

The U.S. Army’s Defense Health Agency (DHA) has issued a call for submissions to address how digital transformation can be leveraged to “create a new value equation for military medicine,” according to a release. DHA is collaborating with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to seek out “industry expertise and new ideas” in the “lines of effort” (LOEs) of patient experience, data management support and provider-supported technology.

A description of the project frames the need for change as an urgent matter. “MHS cannot sustain the readiness of the medical force in the present operating model,” it says. “A new model for delivering care and a technology-enabled framework for adapting and evolving is required.” Solutions for the three LOEs “may be executed by a single vendor bringing a comprehensive solution or by multiple vendors working in a teaming arrangement and demonstrating interoperability.”

While the call for submissions makes no explicit mention of biometric technology, it makes multiple allusions to “a patient experience that is frictionless for its beneficiaries.” On top of frictionless access to services and care, it also calls for “seamless integration with the existing Electronic Health Record.” This language indicates the potential deployment of biometric or digital ID systems as part of the military medicine overhaul.

Per the documentation, “a frictionless experience means that patients can securely access the full suite of health services with a single-sign-on, facilitated by machine learning and chatbots, that provides a longitudinal health record (medical history, medications, test results, reminders), connects patients to wellness and self-care packages, and/or assists patients in virtual, in-person or asynchronous visits within the Direct Care System or Private Sector Care. User interfaces are designed for mobile devices (phones, tablets, augmented/virtual reality), intuitive and require minimal customer support.”

In defining “provider-supported technology in the health ecosystem,” the DHA lists applications that use generative AI to recognize speech and assist with workflows. “Over time,” it says, “the health ecosystem will include applications for scheduling, virtual nursing, preventing alert fatigue, chart search, telemetry, remote patient monitoring and hospital command centers.”

The healthcare industry is in the midst of what some industry observers have called a “mad dash” toward digital transformation, with high interest in initiatives that leverage decentralized digital identity, self sovereign identity, and other digital ID tools.

Article Topics

digital identity  |  healthcare  |  patient identification  |  single sign-on  |  tender  |  U.S. Army