The Defense Health Agency has been on a mission to transition to a single, consolidated network in an effort to modernize and standardize the enterprise’s health information technology infrastructure.
“We bulldozed down the old networks [and] created a new one,” explained Pat Flanders, PEO for Medical Systems and Chief Information Officer for J-6 for DHA, during a panel discussion at the Potomac Officers Club’s 4th Annual CIO Summit in May.
What’s new for DHA’s IT network? Pat Flanders will speak on the Preserving Patient Privacy while Maintaining Innovation and Expanding the User Experience panel during the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Healthcare Summit on Dec. 6. Don’t miss your chance to meet and network with the country’s foremost healthcare experts, leaders and professionals! Register here.
Now, as the agency moves forward with a consolidated network and continues to invest in IT innovations, new opportunities are being unlocked.
“We’re now able to connect things that we couldn’t connect before … [it] has enabled centralized monitoring in a very meaningful way [with] a single active directory, better identity management, and a 24/7 365 Global Service Center help desk,” explained Flanders during a webinar in September.
“We started this transformation to the network side in 2016. We’ve got everything in place and singled-up now. Now we’re on the clinical side, which we began last October. We’re going through modifying policies and capabilities, so when you walk into any hospital [in our network] you get that same experience,” he added.
Flanders pointed to technological advancements as a key component of the agency’s progress over the last few years, but also as a critical component of continued innovation.
“One of the most significant factors contributing to rapid improvement in healthcare today has been taking advantage of advances in technology,” said Flanders at the 2023 Defense Health Information Technology Symposium in August. “The DHA has come a long way over the last three years. We must now leverage technological innovations in support of DHA Director Army Lt. Gen. Crosland’s initiative to evolve how we deliver care and meet our patients wherever they are around the world.”
Join Flanders and other experts from DHA, CMS, NIH, the FDA and other healthcare agencies at the 2023 Healthcare Summit on Dec. 6. Click here to register.
