Operation Just Cause... ...for as long as it takes
The Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses released
findings today on military medical recordkeeping before, during and after the
Gulf War.
The analysis of medical recordkeeping practices was prompted by
comments and concerns voiced by veterans groups over the handling of
medical records.
With the release of this latest information paper on medical
recordkeeping, analysts anticipate that veterans will have a better understanding of
how recordkeeping problems may have occurred during the Gulf War. The paper
also addresses post-Gulf War recordkeeping policies and practices, as
well as future initiatives for improved medical records management,
especially during deployments.
"The Gulf War taught us it's not enough to simply care for casualties,"
said Bernard Rostker, the Defense Department's special assistant for Gulf War
illnesses. "We should more fully document health care, including
hazardous exposures, to better address post-deployment health concerns among
servicemembers and veterans."
Medical recordkeeping policies prior to the Gulf War generally focused
on peacetime health services and did not appear to fully address the
special requirements of maintaining a health record during deployments. The
rapid deployment of a large and diverse military force (including the active
duty and Reserve components) further contributed to medical recordkeeping
problems during the Gulf War.
Since the Gulf War, medical recordkeeping has emphasized the
documentation of deployment health-related activities and the development of automated
information systems. Increasingly, the health of servicemembers is
being addressed as an important element of military doctrine, plans, and
directives.
In the years following the Gulf War, access to medical records has
improved through closer cooperation between the Departments of Defense and
Veterans Affairs, and the National Archives and Records Administration. Last
year, as part of an initiative to identify and facilitate veterans' access to
Gulf War inpatient health records, staff from the special assistant's office
located more than 25,000 inpatient records of servicemembers deployed to
the Gulf.
The team identified the inpatient records located at the National
Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, the permanent storage site for all records
of hospitalizations in military medical facilities. This information was
entered into a database and has assisted veterans searching for
inpatient medical records.
Veterans looking for inpatient medical records are
encouraged to call the office at (800) 497-6261 for a database search
and assistance in obtaining copies of their records.
For the future, DoD is looking at technology for meeting many of its
medical recordkeeping challenges. The computerized patient record and the
personal information carrier - a dog-tag-sized device that holds a computer chip
containing medical data - are two major cornerstones for the future.
Currently, to meet the challenge of the medical record keeping for total
force anthrax immunization, the Services implemented automated
immunizations tracking systems to record and track the anthrax immunization status of
all servicemembers. The Defense Department conducts routine audits of the
immunization tracking systems, the DoD Central Database, and
servicemembers
medical records to ensure that anthrax immunization data is
appropriately
documented.
Two other information papers were released today. All three - "Medical
Recordkeeping," "Inhibited Red Fuming Nitric Acid," and the "M256
Chemical
Detection Kit" - are posted on DoD's website, GulfLINK
Sent in by Veterans News and Information Services
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