Army

MHS Implements Multiple Programs to Improve PTSD and Depression Care

In the year since the release of a RAND report critical of follow-up within the Military Health System (MHS) for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, the DoD has released results of several new programs to improve screening, increase the number of therapeutic visits and track mental health measures.

Army

Army Child Abuse, Neglect Cases Under-Reported

Abuse and neglect of children of Army personnel appears to be under-reported, according to a new report which also suggests a breakdown of communication between civilian child protective services and the military.

Army

Telemedicine Allows Army, Indian Health Service to Expand Range of Diabetes Care

To reach the growing number of individuals in their care who have diabetes, both the Army and the Indian Health Service have aggressively adopted telemedicine

Army

Army Research Produces Zika Vaccine Candidate in Record Time

Drawing on deep experience with flaviviruses that started with its namesake’s research on yellow fever in the 1800s, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) and collaborators brought two Zika vaccine candidates through early testing in just four months this spring.

Army

New Army Surgeon General Is First African-American to Head MEDCOMM

In another first for the Army, an African-American woman became the new surgeon general last month.

Army

Retiring CIO Changed ‘Do Your Own Thing’ Mindset of Military Medicine

When David Bowen arrived as chief information officer of the Military Health System (MHS), he was challenged with assisting to consolidate the armed services’ medical organizations into a single agency.

Army

High Percentage of Soldiers with Mental Illness Undiagnosed, Not Being Treated

In the wake of record-high suicide rates, the Army instituted a number of programs to identify and treat mental illness among soldiers.

Army

Army Medicine: Strengthening the Health of our Nation by Improving the Health of our Army

By Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command, 43rd Surgeon General of the Army For the first time in our nation’s history, we are decreased the size of our Army before we ended... View Article

Army

New Analytics May Help Army Predict Which Soldiers Are at Risk for Suicide

Rate Spikes after Psychiatric Hospitalization New Analytic Methods May Be Able to Better Predict Who’s at Risk By Brenda L. Mooney BOSTON – Soldiers are at astronomical risk of suicide within the first year following... View Article

Army

Research Finds Unexpectedly High Rates of Pain, Opioid Use in Recently Deployed Soldiers

By Annette M. Boyle SILVER SPRING, MD – Skyrocketing prescription opioid use in the civilian population has attracted widespread medical and media attention. While the DoD and VA implemented a pain management task force in... View Article

Army

Army Turns to NCOs to Combat Obesity, Related Issues, in Soldiers

While the vast majority of soldiers maintain healthy weights, bad habits developed during deployment and on military bases follow them after retiring from the Army. In fact, more than 70% of veterans end up overweight.... View Article

Army

Army Rolls Out Major Upgrade of Electronic Health Record System

By Stephen Spotswood WASHINGTON — This month the Army will begin rolling out a major upgrade to its electronic health record system — the Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care (MC4) system. The rollout will... View Article

Army

Uniformed Pharmacists Take Half of Next Generation Pharmacist Awards

By Annette M. Boyle LAS VEGAS, NV — Of the 30 finalists in this year’s Next Generation Pharmacist awards, 30% worked in military or public health pharmacies, the strongest representation seen in the awards program.... View Article

Army

VA’s MOVE! Program Touted as Model for Combating Diabetes, Obesity

By Stephen Spotswood ATLANTA – Can lifestyle changes be achieved in a large-scale healthcare setting, with patients maintaining improvement over several years? An Emory University study of VA’s Managing Obesity and Overweight Veterans Everywhere! (MOVE!)... View Article

Army

With Wars’ End, Human-Use Protocol Approved for Acinetobacter Antibiotic

By Brenda L. Mooney BETHESDA, MD – After years of red tape, the military finally has received approval to proceed with the human-use protocol for Arbekacin, an antibiotic shown in laboratory tests to be effective... View Article

Army

TBI, PTSD Research Will Go On Despite DoD Budget Crunch

By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON – While 2013 has been a difficult year so far when it comes to the budget, the Military Health System’s top doctor promised that funding for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and... View Article

Army

DoD Budget Seeks to Cut More Than 5,000 Civilian Healthcare Workers Over Five Years

By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON – The DoD plans to cut its civilian workforce by 5% to 6% by the end of fiscal year 2018, including more than 5,000 from the Military Health System. President Barack... View Article

Army

Rabies Exposure Reports Skyrocket in Theater After Army Cracks Down on Pets

By Annette M. Boyle ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD – While adopting a stray dog or a wild monkey might seem to be a relatively harmless way to boost a military unit’s morale, in countries such... View Article

Army

Army Medicine: Redefining Its Role in the Generation of a Ready and Resilient Force

By Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, RN, Surgeon General, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho, MSN, RN Promoting health for more than 9.7 million beneficiaries in the Military Health System (MHS) is a shared responsibility... View Article

Army

Military Recruits Benefit from Later Sleeping, Rising Hours

FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO – Rise and shine may not work as well with young military recruits awakened too early. That’s according to a new study published in the journal Sleep that found that accommodating... View Article

Army

Enlistment Waivers for Mental Health Tougher to Get with Reduction in Forces

By Annette M. Boyle Staff Sgt. Roger L. Whaley speaks with future soldier Phillip McDonald at the U.S. Army Recruiting Station in Radcliff, Ky. About three-quarters of potential recruits fail to meet enlistment qualifications, primarily... View Article

Army

Lack of Sleep Is Part of Triad That Challenges Army Medicine

By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON – Sleep is part of the prescription when it comes to improving the health of troops and families, according to the Army Surgeon General. “When you look at a lot of... View Article

Army

Heavy Use of Energy Drinks Blamed for Some Military Sleep Problems

By Brenda L. Mooney SILVER SPRING, MD — High consumption of energy drinks could be leading to sleep problems for deployed troops, potentially impairing military performance, according to a new study from the Walter Reed... View Article

Army

Invasive Fungal Infections Complicate Treatment, Increase Mortality of IED-Wounded Servicemembers

By Brenda L. Mooney U.S. Marine Cpl. Sean Grady, a dog handler and pointman with Echo Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and Ace, an improvised explosive device detection dog, pause for a break while... View Article

Army

Soldiers with Diabetes in Theater Increase Clinicians’ Disease Management Challenges

By Annette M. Boyle BETHESDA, MD — The Army is retaining an increasing number of personnel with diabetes, and, despite directives to the contrary, these soldiers may be deployed to active war zones where typically... View Article

Army

Potential Overuse of Antipsychotic Drugs for PTSD Patients is Under Review

By Annette M. Boyle FORT DETRICK, MD — In the wake of a memo from Assistant Secretary of Defense Jonathan Woodson, MD, expressing concern about potential over-prescription of antipsychotic drugs for treatment of post-traumatic stress... View Article

Army

Joining Reserve at 60, Dermatologist Wins Awards for Army Skin Cancer Screenings

By Steve Lewis IRVINE, CA–At age 60, when many men are starting to wind down their careers and transition toward retirement, Lt. Col. Dore Gilbert, MD, a practicing dermatologist and associate professor of dermatology at... View Article

Army

Enhanced Court-Martial Process Targets Sexual Predators in Military

By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON — All branches of military service now are mandated to set up special units to investigate allegations of sexual assault crimes, which will go through a dedicated court-martial process. That was... View Article

Army

Servicemembers Lose Benefits after Improper Discharges for Alleged Personality Disorders

By Stephen Spotswood WASHINGTON — The U.S. military continues to use improper processes to diagnose significant numbers of servicemembers with pre-existing personality disorders (PD) and then discharge them, according to government documents obtained by an... View Article

Army

Schoomaker Looks Back on Eventful Years as Army Surgeon General

By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON — When Eric Schoomaker, MD, was named Army surgeon general in 2007, military medicine was facing an administrative and public relations nightmare. Widespread allegations of substandard living conditions at Walter Reed... View Article

Army

Tragic Loss of Child Illustrates Importance of Patient Safety in MHS

By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON — Army Maj. Kendall Mower expected his wife’s fourth birth to go as smoothly as the births of his three other children. His newborn died shortly after birth, however, as a... View Article

Army

Report Prompted by Fort Hood Shooting Calls DoD Physician Credentialing Inadequate

By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON — Reporting the results of an investigation begun after an Army physician opened fire and shot more than 40 people at Fort Hood in 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says... View Article

Army

Continuing Afghanistan Conflict More Severe Injuries Keep Landstuhl Busy

By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON — On Dec. 27, when the U.S. military was only two days away from completing its pullout of troops of Iraq, came casualty reports from Afghanistan, a stark reminder of the... View Article

Army

Maintaining Troop Readiness After More Than A Decade Of War

Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho, MSN, RN Army Surgeon General I am grateful for the honor and privilege to serve as the Army’s 43rd surgeon general and commander, U.S. Army Medical Command with soldiers and civilians,... View Article

Army

New Army Surgeon General Is First Woman, Nurse to Hold That Position

WASHINGTON — With the swearing in of Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, RN, as the Army’s 43rd surgeon general, for the first time a woman or a nurse has been officially in command of the... View Article

Army

Suicide Prevention Not Working Returning Troops Could Increase Problem

WASHINGTON — Efforts to prevent suicides among servicemembers are not working, according to a new report that warns that the problem is likely to get much worse as more troops return from deployment. A report... View Article

Army

New BRAC-Mandated Medical Center Locations Creating Traffic Gridlock

WASHINGTON — The new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) and the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital (FBCH) are both designed to offer state-of-the-art medical care – assuming staff and patients can ever get to... View Article

Army

Anonymous Surveys Can Be Valuable in Military Mental-Health Screening Study Finds

WASHINGTON — Despite intensive efforts by the military to reduce the stigma of seeking help, troops still might be reluctant to report mental-health problems, suggests a new study of U.S. Army soldiers from one infantry... View Article

Army

Anonymous Surveys Can Be Valuable in Military Mental-Health Screening, Study Finds

WASHINGTON — Despite intensive efforts by the military to reduce the stigma of seeking help, troops still might be reluctant to report mental-health problems, suggests a new study of U.S. Army soldiers from one infantry... View Article

Army

First Malaria Vaccine Could Be Available in Four Years

WASHINGTON — The world’s first malaria vaccine may finally be within reach. Scientists and public health officials are optimistic about recent news that a malaria vaccine candidate was able to reduce the risk of malaria... View Article

Army

Troops Suffering Increased Devastating Injuries from Blasts

WASHINGTON, DC — Of all of the injuries servicemembers suffer on the battlefield, among the most feared, psychologically as well as physically, are genitourinary. In fact, a recent report offered anecdotal information that some servicemembers... View Article

Army

Army Readiness Eroded By Increasing Numbers of Medically Unfit Soldiers

WASHINGTON — As troops are being drawn down, even while the demand on the force continues, a growing percentage of Army troops are medically unfit for duty, Army officials said at the recent Association of... View Article

Army

Many Servicemembers Who Commit Suicide Have Never Seen Battle

Jonathan Woodson, MD WASHINGTON — When servicemembers commit suicide, a common misperception is that the extreme act is a response to traumatic battlefield experiences. In reality, many, if not most, military personnel who kill themselves... View Article

Army

Resilience Programs Have Mushroomed in Military, But Do They Work?

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has implemented programs and strategies to promote psychological resilience among troops as stress from the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan has taken a toll. Little is known, however, about... View Article

Army

Army Urgently Seeks More Substance-Abuse Counselors for Troubled Soldiers

WASHINGTON — With wars that have gone on for almost a decade, the Army has more soldiers with substance-abuse problems than it can handle and is trying to expedite hiring counselors to help bring the... View Article

Army

A Sea Change for Military Medicine: Walter Reed Joins Navy Medical Center in Bethesda

WASHINGTON — A new chapter in military medicine is set to begin this month with the opening of the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. The completion of the new medical... View Article

Army

Army Looks to Telehealth Project to Improve Wounded Warrior Pain Management

WASHINGTON — Army officials are taking steps to replicate an innovative telehealth project to enhance the Army’s pain-medicine care and treatment. Telehealth initiatives generally have been used to allow a doctor at one location to... View Article

Army

Army-led Research on HIV Vaccine Could Lead to Success in a Decade

Research into development of a vaccine for the HIV virus has moved so quickly in the last two years, military researchers predict that a vaccine could be available within the next decade. Not too long... View Article

Army

New IRB for Military Cancer Research Offers One-Stop Shop

WASHINGTON—If there is one fact that Marianne Elliott, chair of the U.S. Military Cancer Institute (USMCI) Institutional Review Board (IRB), wants investigators to know, it is that the USMCI’s new cancer research review board is... View Article

Army

Schoomaker: Military Personnel Left Confused by Different Evaluation Systems at VA, DoD

WASHINGTON—Despite significant efforts by DoD and VA to revamp the disability evaluation process, the new system remains “complex and adversarial,” the top Army doctor told a congressional subcommittee. DoD and VA agreed on a new... View Article

Department of Defense (DoD)

Subscribe to U.S. Medicine Print Magazine

Receive Our Email Newsletter