According to Lieutenant General James G. Roudebush, MD., Air Force Surgeon General, appearing before the House Committee on Armed Services, using telehealth technologies to link radiologists has moved into the forefront with the development of the Air Force Radiology Network (RADNET) Project.
The project provides Dynamic Workload Allocation by linking the military radiologists via a global enterprise system. RADNET will provide access to studies across every radiology department throughout the AFMS on a continuous basis. The goal is to maximize physician availability to address workload regardless of location. The Air Force is aggressively targeting deployment of this capability in FY 2009 to all Air Force sites.
Lieutenant General Roudebush reported that the Telemental Health Project is scheduled to be operational in FY 2009. This project will provide video teleconference units at every Mental Health clinic for live patient consultations. Virtual Reality equipment will also be installed at six Air Force sites to use in a pilot project to help treat patients with PTSD. Using this equipment will enable desensitization therapy to be used by recreating sight, sound, and smell in a controlled environment.
He also mentioned that the joint electronic health record known as Theater Medical Information Program (TMIP) is now visible to all medical providers. Clinicians are now able access the data at every military and VA medical center world-wide using the joint Bidirectional Health Information Exchange (BHIE).
