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Military Health System Looks to be Ready for Challenges of Changing World

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WASHINGTON --  A well-honed and organized system to support a national military strategy and the ability to deploy anywhere around the globe at a moment's notice are key drivers for the Military Health System (MHS). With 9.5 million beneficiaries, more than 360 medical clinics, and 380,000 participating providers, MHS is an integral component that sustains a global fighting force.

"Our goal is to 'skate to where the puck will be,'" said Dr. Jonathan Woodson, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, borrowing a quote from former hockey great Wayne Gretzky. "We need to keep our warfighters healthy in all dimensions: mind, body, and spirit. We need to be able to repair our war fighter when ill or injured; we need to be able to care for the families of war fighters when they are deployed. We have performed well, but we need to position ourselves to be stronger, better, and more relevant for the future."

Woodson's remarks came during a Brookings Institution event in downtown Washington, D.C., where he gave attendees an overview of MHS.

As he oversees an annual budget exceeding $50 billion, Woodson said the MHS is a global public health system, in addition to being an education and training system which includes an accredited university with a medical school and graduate programs, as well as  medical and enlisted officer training platforms. The MHS produces more than 20,000 graduates each year. "We have young people who are doing some amazing things as a result of the education they are receiving at the facilities such as the Medical Education and Training Center in San Antonio, Texas.

" Woodson spoke about how the MHS is working to build upon the successes it has attained over the past 13 years by modernizing the agency's management with an enterprise focus, defining global health engagement requirements, and investing in and expanding its strategic partnerships.

Woodson also stated, as the MHS works to ensure that it will be an efficient, high-performing, reliable organization, they will seek to manage costs to increase value and develop personnel who will become leaders in the 21st century and beyond.

"We have more sub-specialization. Baby boomers are getting older and need more care. We also have more competition among health care providers. We're looking to produce better care at lower costs; that's what we're working towards. That's 'skating to where the puck will be,'" Woodson said.