DOD Introduces EHR System To Be Used in Combat Areas, Hospitals

The Department of Defense last week introduced a $1.2 billion electronic health records system known as AHLTA that is being used by about half of the military's 60,000 medical practitioners nationwide, the Washington Times reports. The system will cost about $100 million annually and is expected to reduce health care costs and medical errors for more than nine million service members, retirees and their families.

AHLTA is designed to run on military hospital computers, hand-held devices and laptops for medical units in combat areas, according to William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. The system is expected to be fully implemented by December 2006.

Winkenwerder called the system "a major accomplishment in military medicine."

The military operates 800 clinics and 70 hospitals in the U.S. (Higgins, Washington Times, 11/25).