Systems program transfer at Craig Joint-Theater Hospital transparent to providers

By Capt Addie Snay (III Corps)March 25, 2012

Systems program transfer at Craig Joint-Theater Hospital, Afghanistan
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan - U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Armando Ortega, Task Force Medical-Afghanistan Information Systems Technology, and Rick Radzville, Theater Medical Information Program - Air Force contractor, review the implementation... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan -- Members of Task Force MED-Afghanistan, Task Force MED-East, and contractors from the Theater Medical Information Program -- Air Force, completed the transition of Craig JointTheater Hospital from the Army program Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care system to TMIP-AF, March 15.

TMIP-AF is the Air Force program responsible for supporting the use of the electronic health record by deployed medical units. The data recorded on this application is stored locally and sent securely back to the continental United States, where it is added to servicemembers' permanent health records. The transfer was driven by the fact that the majority of the hospital staff is Air Force therefore the support mission is an Air Force function.

This was a complex migration, requiring prior planning and coordination between multiple units spread across two continents. The planning for this transfer began in 2010.

"This was a historical migration in two ways. Craig hospital is the largest facility ever transitioned between the service support programs and had the shortest outage time of eight hours," said Senior Systems Engineer Richard Radzville, a contractor for TMIP-AF and an Elkridge, Md., native.

"I truly believe that change was needed and I am excited to see the improvements in healthcare we are about to see occur at Craig Joint-Theater Hospital," said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Maurice Lewis, 455th Medical Information Systems Flight commander and Chicago native.

The changeover was fairly seamless to the point that users have seen little to no difference, therefore resulting in no delay to patient care. The computers run faster resulting in more timely documentation of encounters by providers.

"It's not every day a project this big happens and it's not every day one gets to be a part of it," said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Christina Herrera, 455th Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron, NCO in charge of the Information Systems Help Desk. "The experience I have gained is something I will take with me throughout my career."