Telemedicine and Business Process Redesign at the Department of Defense

Abstract

This case is designed to relate the rationale used by the Department of Defense and the Test and Evaluation (T&E) Integrated Product Team, in order to determine the military utility of the Joint Medical Operations Telemedicine Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (JMO-T ACTD). The paper also develops Critical Operational Issues (COI) and Measures of Effectiveness (MOE) as methodologies for investigating military utility of telemedicine. In order to meet increasing global crises, the U.S. military must find ways to more effectively manage manpower and time. Joint Medical Operations Telemedicine (JMO-T) has been developed by the Department of Defense (DOD) to collect and transmit near-real-time, far-forward medical data and to assess how this improved capability enhances medical management of the battlespace. JMO-T has been successful in resolving uncertain organizational and technological military deficiencies and in improving medical communications and information management. The deployable, mobile Telemedicine Teams are the centerpieces of JMO-T. These teams have the capability of inserting essential networking and communications capabilities into austere theaters and establishing an immediate means for enhancing health protection, collaborative planning, situational awareness, and strategic decision-making.