The US Army Health Service is inviting proposals for a digital transformation initiative

The U.S. Army’s Defense Health Agency (DHA) has issued a call for proposals to explore how digital transformation can be used to “create a new value equation for military medicine,” according to a press release. DHA is working with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to seek “industry expertise and new ideas” across the “lines of effort” (LOEs) of patient experience, data management support and vendor-enabled technology.

A description of the project describes the need for change as an urgent issue. “MHS cannot maintain medical force readiness in the current operating model,” it said. “A new model for delivering care and a technology-based framework for adaptation and development are needed.” Solutions for the three LOEs “can be implemented by a single vendor delivering a comprehensive solution, or by multiple vendors working as a team and demonstrating interoperability.”

While the call for proposals does not explicitly mention biometric technology, several allusions are made to “a patient experience that is frictionless for beneficiaries.” In addition to hassle-free access to services and care, it also calls for “seamless integration with the existing electronic health record.” This language indicates the potential deployment of biometric or digital ID systems as part of the overhaul of military medicine.

According to the documentation, “A frictionless experience means patients can securely access the full suite of healthcare services with a single sign-on, facilitated by machine learning and chatbots, providing a longitudinal health record (medical history, medications, test results, reminders), connecting patients with wellness and self-care packages and/or assists patients with virtual, in-person or asynchronous visits within the direct care system or private sector. User interfaces are designed for mobile devices (phones, tablets, augmented/virtual reality), intuitive and require minimal customer support.”

In defining “vendor-enabled technology in the health ecosystem,” the DHA lists applications that use generative AI to recognize speech and assist with workflows. “Over time,” the report says, “the health ecosystem will include applications for scheduling, virtual nursing, preventing alert fatigue, mapping search, telemetry, remote patient monitoring and hospital command centers.”

The healthcare industry is in the midst of what some industry observers have called a “mad dash” toward digital transformation, with significant interest in initiatives that leverage decentralized digital identity, self-sovereign identity, and other digital ID tools.

Article topics

digital identity | healthcare | patient identification | single sign-on | registration | US Army