Photo By Thomas Cieslak | Navy Capt. Elizabeth Adriano, commander of Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point, speaks...... read more read more
Digital transformation continues to have a significant impact on the way people live and work at a rapid pace, and its influence on health care is no exception. As artificial intelligence capabilities become more widespread and sophisticated, the Department of Defense will respond with agility and flexibility to advance its responsible adoption of AI. Over the past six years, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs has worked to identify the necessary actions to enable advances and adoption of AI and machine learning across military medicine, while ensuring robust strategy, policies, governance, and safeguards are in place.
The Military Health System fosters, protects, sustains, and restores the health of active duty and reserve component forces to support the mission. The MHS has a unique mission supporting 9.5 million beneficiaries composed of uniformed service members, military retirees, and family members. The MHS started an initial artificial intelligence and machine learning inventory in 2018.
In 2019, the MHS started hosting annual workshops specifically geared towards AI and machine learning. An updated inventory was performed in 2023. Since 2024, the MHS’ goal is to focus on strategy, collaboration, and establishing guidelines aligned with the policies of the DOD’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office. Leveraging the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences was a natural fit to develop a strategic digital health framework for the MHS.
Digital health experts at USU were charged to lead development of this digital strategy beginning in December 2023. USU is the nation’s federal health professions academy with an emphasis on military health care, leadership, readiness, and public health. The work of the MHS Digital Transformation Executive Committee culminated in March 2025 with the publication of the premier MHS Digital Transformation Strategy. The strategy identifies four distinct lines of effort: invest in the existing digital health infrastructure; develop digital care models and empower digital self-care; develop a digitally competent medical workforce; and integrate AI and data management.
According to Dr. Stephen Ferrara, acting assistant secretary of defense for Health Affairs, the MHS Digital Transformation Strategy represents a commitment and “is a testament to our unwavering dedication to providing the full spectrum of advanced digital health technologies to improve health outcomes for our warfighters on the battlefield or in garrison and for their families to access person-centric, healthcare tools. It harnesses America’s innate and nearly infinite capacity to innovate, enabling us to drive and master the future.”
Digital transformation refers to the process of integrating digital technologies, data analytics, and innovative processes into healthcare delivery, aiming to significantly improve the quality, efficiency, and accessibility of medical services, often including elements like telehealth, electronic health records, and patient portals, allowing for more personalized and data-driven patient care.
Susan Orsega, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Health Services Policy and Oversight, said “digital transformation in health care has created a culture of innovation and change across the medical community, and the MHS is no different.”
“Our medical teams are working to understand how digital tools can positively impact our beneficiaries’ health and military mission success,” she said. “As we continue to traverse the future of military medicine, we know digital tools can have a great influence on access to care, better patient outcomes, disease diagnosis, and prevention at home and abroad.”
To bring the strategy to life and support implementation, Ferrara chartered the MHS Digital Policy Council in March 2025. Led by Orsega, the council provides strategic implementation, guidance, and oversight of data governance and AI policy and ensures all MHS health data integration and digital adoption activities are transparent, mutually supporting, and shared across the components of the MHS.
The scope of their oversight includes the safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of AI within health care, the enhancement and acceleration of enterprise data management, and the review and monitoring of developing data analytic platforms. The council is an integrator comprised of representatives from Health Affairs, USU, Defense Health Agency, and the military departments.
Dr. Christine Bader, an MHS Digital Policy Council member, said the MHS made digital transformation a priority because digital health modernization and innovation are seen as catalysts and enablers for change.
“The integration of digital health offers opportunities to increase operational readiness, improve clinical outcomes, enhance quality and safety, reduce risks, and fortify the resilience of the total force and all DOD beneficiaries,” said Bader, who currently serves as deputy director of the General Ronald H. Griffith Institute for Military Medical Professionalism and special assistant to the dean of the Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing at USU.
According to Allen W. Middleton, a senior advisor to the president of USU, transforming the MHS into a digital health force multiplier is not an option, but necessary to ensure mission success across the DOD.
“Failing to embrace digital transformation will hinder the MHS’s ability to effectively support the National Defense Strategy, deliver the joint capabilities needed by the armed services and combatant commands, and provide quality care to the total force and DOD beneficiaries,” said Middleton. “A tightly integrated system, critical to which is digital transformation, is essential for the MHS to remain effective. If the MHS does not evolve into a digital health system, it risks falling behind in providing optimal health care, potentially jeopardizing the health and readiness of military personnel and their families.”
USU President Dr. Jonathan Woodson understands the value of digital health and its benefit to patients—saving the lives of service members and getting them back to the fight as quickly as possible. But equally as important is transforming how future military doctors and nurses are learning and shortening training times through adaptive learning and digital tools.
“USU is harnessing cutting edge AI technologies to revolutionize medical education, optimizing learning efficiency, engagement, and exam performance,” said Woodson. “These AI-driven innovations enhance curriculum, personalize interactive tutoring, provide high-fidelity exam preparation and medical-interviewing simulations. I think we will be able to accomplish moving students through the curriculum in three years.”
The transformation of digital health will continue to drive success on the battlefield, in military hospitals and clinics, and in MHS training and education venues for the next decade and beyond. With the support of innovative leaders and forward-thinkers throughout the organization in healthcare delivery, operational medicine informatics and teaching those skills at USU and at military hospitals and clinics will ensure they have the tools necessary to support the health and operational medicine needs of tomorrow.
| Date Taken: | 05.19.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.19.2025 12:46 |
| Story ID: | 498328 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 160 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Military Health System’s Digital Transformation Will Improve Operational Readiness, Health Outcomes, by Terry Goodman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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