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MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The MacDill Integrated Disability Evaluation System program, also known as the medical evaluation board, has experienced a major transformation since arriving at the 6th Medical Group in 2009.
MacDill Air Force Base was chosen as one of the pilot bases to test the program, which started at three military treatment facilities in November 2007.
The IDES program is a Department of Defense and Department of Veteran Affairs initiative to improve the process that evaluates wounded service members' fitness for duty. The goal was to simplify and expedite the process by having a standardized method of evaluation by both the DoD and VA so service members could have quicker access to TRICARE and other benefits.
A 2011 staff assistance visit of MacDill's IDES program found deficiencies and several areas for improvement. In addition, after a statistics review MacDill ranked number 75 out of the 75 medical groups in the Air Force.
The 6th Medical Group leadership and other base agencies collected feedback from patients, commanders and staff on the IDES process and came up with ways to improve.
Weekly meetings were conducted which included discussions of the medical evaluation board program status and performance improvements.
From the meetings, one solution was adding staffing to the program. A noncommissioned officer was added to run the day-to-day operations.
MacDill's Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century team assisted with analyzing shortages and issues. From AFSO21's recommendations, personnel utilization improved and the implementation of standardized processes alleviated unnecessary steps resulting in a decrease in processing time.
By September 2011, the IDES staff cleared backlogged cases and sent delayed cases to the formal board in San Antonio.
November and December 2011, 100 percent of the cases were completed on time, averaging a nine day early completion per case.
Since the transformation began 10 months earlier, completion time decreased from 270 days to 35 days.
Other bases have noticed the success of MacDill's IDES program now seek counsel from the staff here. For more information on the IDES program go to www.realwarriors.net/healthprofessionals/guidelines/ides.php.
| Date Taken: | 04.19.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.04.2014 06:30 |
| Story ID: | 120060 |
| Location: | MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 77 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, MacDill IDES program: Ranked last, now excelling fast, by TSgt Michael Ellis, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
