A symbolic switch was thrown at 7 a.m. as the Department of Defense’s (DoD) new electronic health record (EHR), MHS GENESIS, deployed at Naval Hospital Bremerton (NHB), Sept. 23.
The deployment of MHS GENESIS culminated months of extensive preparation and intensive training at NHB to keep pace with medical advances and innovations in technology, and enhance the high quality healthcare provided for all patients.
“Over the past several years, members of the Navy Medicine team have worked tirelessly to ensure MHS GENESIS was ready for go-live at our Navy facilities in the Pacific Northwest,” said Vice Adm. Forrest Faison, Navy surgeon general and chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. “This is a critical moment in military medicine that will help ensure we continue providing the best health care possible to our Sailors, Marines and their families - we owe them nothing less. I’m incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication of those involved across the enterprise.”
Initial deployment of MHS GENESIS took place at Fairchild Air Force Base by the U.S. Air Force 92nd Medical Group in February, followed by Naval Hospital Oak Harbor in July.
“We have been preparing for this moment for nearly two years. The NHB staff has poured heart and soul into preparing for this day. Their efforts will have a profound impact on the rollout of the new electronic health record across the MHS,” said Capt. Jeffrey Bitterman, NHB commanding officer.
MHS GENESIS will provide a single integrated electronic health record for service members, veterans and their families that will integrate inpatient and outpatient medical and dental information across the continuum of care, from point of injury – whether ship, shore, submarine, squadron - to the military hospital or clinic.
One of the key features and benefits for patients is the MHS GENESIS Patient Portal, a one-stop shop for viewing personal healthcare and history; two-way communication between patient and provider; a secure website for around-the-clock access to individual and family health information, including visit notes, test results, x-rays, and medications, along with online prescription renewal.
Prior to MHS GENESIS deployment, several informational town hall sessions were held for beneficiaries to explain and answer questions regarding the new system, specifically concerning the new patient portal.
“We received a lot of good questions at the recent town halls. Our patients were interested, engaged and wanted to know exactly what was going on,” said Cmdr. Christopher Tatro, DoD Healthcare Management System Modernization (DHMSM) Program Management Office Initial Operational Capability (IOC) Site Implementation Team.
Tatro explained there are three different ways to access the new patient portal. Beneficiaries can visit the official site at https://patientportal.mhsgenesis.health.mil and once there use one of the three options to logon: Department of Defense Self-Service Logon; Common Access Card; or Defense Finance and Accounting Service login.
Patients who transfer out of the area to another military hospital or clinic not using MHS GENESIS will resume using Secure Messaging – previously called RelayHealth – and TRICARE Online.
Along with providing beneficiaries a modern, secure and connected EHR, MHS GENESIS will also streamline the workday for doctors, nurses and hospital corpsmen in caring for their patients by eliminating double order entry and double documentation.
“There has been a lot of hard work and effort to make this happen,” said Capt. David Hardy, Navy Medicine MHS GENESIS Implementation Detachment Pacific Northwest team leader, addressing the MHS GENESIS support team.
The sites in the Pacific Northwest deploying MHS GENESIS in 2017 are the vanguard before full deployment across the DoD world-wide spectrum is completed in 2022 to serve more than nine million beneficiaries.