Since the beginning of DOD’s Defense Health Agency (DHA) opened in October 2013, a number of actions have been completed to reduce costs and to make the military healthcare system more viable. As an agency within the Military Health System (MHS), DHA manages major cost saving areas for Army, Navy, and Air Force medicine.
DHA is working to standardize health-related functions called shared service including health IT and the TRICARE health plan network. In the initial months, DHA has been working to move shared services out quickly to bring together joint teams and to implement common business processes. Also, DHA is continuing to expand and refine operational decision-making processes in MHS.
In another action, the Senior Military Medical Action Council and the Medical Deputies Action Group two of the most prominent integrated decision-making bodies in the MHS, along with additional councils and work groups have been established.
For example, the Policy Advisory Council supported by the deputy assistant secretaries of defense, deputy surgeons general, and the Joint Staff surgeon is focused on the overarching health policies that the Policy Advisory Council is responsible for overseeing.
The Strategic Action Group supported through DHA, Joint Staff, and service subject matter experts are working to develop performance metrics and measures that DHA will use throughout the system that will be aligned with the Quadruple Aim and MHS objectives.
In the military, Multi-Service Markets (MSM) refers to more than one military department delivering healthcare services to the population. DHA’s goal is to enhance the MSMs and develop a five year unified business plan for the entire market. Three of the largest MSMs are in the National Capital Region, San Antonio, and in the Tidewater area in Virginia.
To move ahead to enhance MSMs, an internal work group was formed to coordinate actions and to share proven practices to establish common clinical and business processes across the DHA system. Recently, DHA hosted leaders and key staff from eight of DHA’s MSMs for strategic planning with the intent to shape business performance plans for fiscal year 2015.
Individual service medical departments have been instrumental in supporting both DHA and the MSM’s efforts. The service medical departments have provided subject matter expertise and resource in terms of both people and dollars to the stand-up of shared services.
In the next several months, additional shared services will be provided in contracting and procurement, public health, budget and resource management, education and training, and research and development.
For more information, go to www.tricare.mil/tma/default.aspx.