Clinical Readiness Program: Refocusing the Military Health System.

Area of Science:

• Military medicine
• Surgical readiness assessment

Background:

• The Military Health System (MHS) globally provides health services and trained medical forces.
• Military providers exhibit varying deployment preparedness levels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and assess knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) crucial for combat casualty care.
• Establish a metric to quantify surgical readiness within the MHS.

Main Methods:

• Developed a KSA metric specifically for general and orthopedic surgery.
• Conducted a proof-of-concept study across six medical treatment facilities.

Main Results:

• The KSA metric effectively quantifies the combat relevance of surgical practices.
• Orthopedic surgeons demonstrated a higher likelihood of meeting readiness thresholds compared to general surgeons.
• Current medical treatment facilities lack sufficient demand for general surgery to ensure adequate readiness.

Conclusions:

• The Clinical Readiness Program identified a disparity between healthcare delivery and military readiness missions.
• Addressing the readiness gap requires the MHS to prioritize high-KSA value procedures, enhance access to care, and foster civilian partnerships.