Estimating supply requirements for forward medical treatment facilities

The Naval Health Research Center designed, developed, and used a systematic process to review Marine Corps medical supply requirements. This approach consisted of identifying the medical tasks required to treat patients with specific injuries and illnesses and determining the supplies and equipment required to perform each task. Subject matter experts reviewed treatment briefs, tasks, supplies, and equipment and examined their value to Marine Corps medical providers in forward areas of care. By establishing the clinical requirement for each item pushed forward, the Naval Health Research Center model was able to reduce the logistical burden carried by Marine Corps units and enhance far-forward clinical capability. The result of this effort is a model to estimate supplies and equipment based on a given casualty stream distribution. This approach produces an audit trail for each item and allows current authorized medical allowance list configurations to be revised using information such as type of conflict anticipated, expected duration, and changes in medical doctrine.