By Jonathan Woodson, MD, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
The MHS enters 2012 and its second decade of combat operations with confidence in our ability to sustain and expand the excellence we have exhibited in military medicine.

WASHINGTON — When servicemembers commit suicide, a common misperception is that the extreme act is a response to traumatic battlefield experiences.

WASHINGTON — Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often is associated with troops returning from war, but it actually is quite common, not only in the military, but in  civilians who experience natural disasters and other traumatic events.

WASHINGTON—A study published in the April issue of Health Affairs found that medical errors cost the United States more than $17 billion a year. And, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, medical errors and near miss events, i.e. any process or error that could have resulted in harm if it had not been caught, are responsible for injury to as many as one out of every 25 hospital patients.

George Peach Taylor, MD,
performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
It is an exciting time to be leading the Military Health System (MHS). Never before has our healthcare mission been more vital or our contributions more significant.