For a Ready and Resilient Military, Focus on Warfighter Total Health

Preparing service members for tomorrow’s engagement requires more than just physical fitness. Today, a holistic approach to health care is essential. So what are private and public sector organizations doing to support total force readiness?

Presented by Leidos Leidos's logo

In 1998, “Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century” broke ground by calling for a new approach to health care — holistic health care. The study, conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine and Research, discovered that many Americans received poor or inadequate care

For example, the National Academies found that of the 634 patients surveyed who suffered from depression, 19% of participants were given minor tranquilizers by their primary health care provider, an ineffective method for treating depression. 

The study concluded that to close these serious gaps in quality, "we must seek health care solutions that are patient-centered, that is, humane and respectful of the needs and preferences of individuals."

The Defense Health Agency, or DHA, adopted this approach in 2009 following the announcement of the Total Force Fitness (TFF) framework, which “focuses on a Service Member’s entire health throughout their career, connecting eight dimensions of fitness to optimize health, performance and readiness holistically.” Since then, holistic health has been a driving force in caring for our men and women at the frontlines; and Leidos has been there from the start. 

"Holistic health is about the whole person. When you think about health, you usually think, 'I'm going to go to the doctor to get my physical,” says Jason McCarthy, senior vice president and operation manager for Leidos' Military and Veterans Health Solutions organization. “But health is more than just physical well-being. Mental, emotional, spiritual, and other factors also contribute to well-being." 

Through its work in three areas—counseling support and services, military health research support services, and on the Defense Healthcare Management System Modernization (DHMSM) program and implementation of the electronic health record MHS GENESIS—Leidos helps ensure that each aspect of the warfighter’s health receives support from enlistment to retirement.

How MHS GENESIS Reduces Complexity and Ensures a Standard of Care

MHS GENESIS is an electronic health record (EHR) currently used at approximately 67% of all military hospitals and clinic commands. McCarthy estimates that the remaining 33% will be completed by the end of calendar year 2023, reaching over 9.6 million eligible beneficiaries. Although MHS GENESIS implementation is still in progress, the ability to deliver continuous care to facilities across the globe cannot be understated. 

As the National Academies report highlighted, the poor care Americans received can be traced back to two major factors: increasing scientific and technological complexity and poor standards/lack of standardized guidelines. 

Addressing inadequate care, as the National Academies surmised, requires a standardized solution that is not only simple to use, but adheres to clinical standards and is technologically adept. Failure to leverage innovative solutions that simplify the process ultimately forces physicians into antiquated methods of assessing health care, resulting in errors. 

MHS GENESIS draws upon the National Academies’ findings by creating a simple, easy-to-use record that leverages the best and brightest of today’s solutions. Doctors and physicians are equipped with easy-to-use clinical tools, enabling them to record important medical details such as mass vaccination and opioid tracking. 

With an emphasis on simple standards and ensuring continuity of care among all key stakeholders, MHS GENESIS is raising the quality of physical health care for our warfighters. 

"[MHS GENESIS] provides service members and their families greater flexibility. This is why I find working in healthcare so important. You're having a direct impact on people every day. It's meaningful work that improves people’s lives," McCarthy adds. 

Moving Beyond Physical Health, Focusing on Hidden Health Factors

But what about the hidden aspects of health? 

Aside from helping the Department of Defense provide standardized, high-quality physical health care to service members, McCarthy and his team are working to support mental health. Mental health may only be one aspect of holistic health, but research has revealed a longstanding stigma: Service members in the armed forces often refrain from seeking help. 

"There's a stigma around counseling, especially in the military. And we're addressing this by facilitating confidential counseling services for service members," McCarthy explains. 

Supporting the DOD in its mission to combat the stigma surrounding mental health in the armed forces, Leidos has over 1,000 licensed behavioral health professionals working alongside children and family members of service members to help address root concerns and problems. This work alleviates some of the hidden stressors that are part and parcel of active duty.

The Future of Holistic Health Care in the Defense Department

McCarthy and his team are also working closely with key stakeholders at the DoD, DHA and Department of Veterans Affairs to understand how the private sector can help support initiatives in every aspect of total force fitness. Leidos understands the importance of physical and mental health care, but also that holistic care includes numerous other factors such as environmental, nutritional, spiritual, social and financial fitness.

Ensuring total force fitness and total force readiness requires collaboration, and McCarthy’s team is ready to help the armed forces prepare. 

"We have positioned ourselves to assist the Department of Defense and our service members and partners [to address] the ever-changing health care environment,” McCarthy says. “Health care is changing. Technology is changing. And we stand ready to assist our federal and non-federal partners to navigate the challenges and opportunities together."

Click to learn more about Leidos’ military health solutions.

This content is made possible by our sponsor Leidos. The editorial staff was not involved in its preparation.

NEXT STORY: Technology Transfer: The Crucial Link from Innovation to Implementation for Federal Agencies

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.