JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas — After months of training and preparation, the San Antonio Market, to include Brooke Army Medical Center and Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, went live with MHS GENESIS on Jan. 22.
MHS GENESIS is the Military Health System’s new electronic health record system being deployed to military hospitals and clinics around the world. The MHS GENESIS system is the centerpiece of a larger transformation to securely standardize, integrate and manage medical records across the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"It has been a tremendous undertaking to be the largest MHS GENESIS implementation wave within the Military Health System,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Jeannine M. Ryder, 59th Medical Wing commander and San Antonio Market director. “Our medics are engaged, positive and flexible while adapting to this new electronic medical record.”
To help ensure a smooth transition, Brooke Army Medical Center stood up the Emergency Operations Center and had clinical and support teams across the organization working around the clock.
“The team that’s helping to implement MHS GENESIS and the staff as a whole are doing a wonderful job,” said Brig. Gen. Clinton Murray, BAMC commanding general and San Antonio Market deputy director.
“I'm pleased to say the implementation is going very well,” he added. “As I visited various departments and services throughout the weekend, I was incredibly impressed by everyone's enthusiasm and positive feedback. The time between turning systems off and on can be tricky with paper orders, labs and X-rays, but the team did it flawlessly.”
While the transition should be mostly transparent for patients, a key change is the switch from TRICARE Online to the MHS GENESIS Patient Portal for online support. The secure website provides 24/7 access to individual and family health information, including visit notes, secure messaging, test results, appointment scheduling and online prescription renewal.
Patients can access the new Portal using their same DS Logon credentials.
Beneficiaries who are experiencing issues with their records or information in the MHS GENESIS Patient Portal can submit an Enterprise Service Desk ticket by calling: 1-800-600-9332 or email dha.jbsa.j-6.mbx.mhs-service-desk@mail.mil. For issues logging onto the system, contact the Defense Manpower Data Center at 1-800-538-9552.
Market leaders continue to ask patients and staff for their patience and support during the transition. To enable care teams and support personnel to train and learn the system, the market has temporarily reduced the number of available appointments. As a result, patients may be referred to the network for primary or specialty care, directed to urgent care centers for same-day care, or experience longer wait times for medical services.
“I realize there are frustrations for both staff and patients, however this record will provide safe, quality care to all of our beneficiaries,” Ryder said. “Our staff continued to provide the most acute and complex care without losing inpatient capabilities and capacity at BAMC. This is a testament to engaged leadership, clinical experts and our partners within the MHS GENESIS implementation team."
“We are incredibly proud of the staff and greatly appreciate our beneficiaries’ support and patience at this time,” Murray added. “Thanks to this team’s hard work and commitment, we are anticipating continued success with this transition.”
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