Disuse of (Computer) System Is Cited in Gaps in Soldiers’ Care

[rainbow4321]

How hard can this be? Target those NOT using the system and make their life hell til they do.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/30/washington/30medical.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=health

Lapses in using a digital medical record system for tracking wounded soldiers have led to medical mistakes and delays in care, and have kept thousands of injured troops from getting benefits, according to former defense and military medical officials.

The Defense Department’s inability to get all hospitals to use the system has routinely forced thousands of wounded soldiers to endure long waits for treatment, the officials said, and exposed others to needless testing.

The system was designed to make seamless the transition of soldiers who were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan as they moved to hospitals stateside. But only 13 of 70 military treatment centers in the United States use it even though it was mandated by the Pentagon more than two years ago, according to agency documents.

Colonel Dorlac said that most doctors who used the system agreed that it worked well. But she said many doctors at United States military hospitals seemed reluctant to use it because doctors did not know they had access or were unwilling to learn how to use it.