OCTOBER 24, 2024 – The Military Health System uses advanced digital health technologies to improve health outcomes. Timely, accurate and useful health information is critical to support military medical staff and patients.
The Defense Health Agency Mobility office supports mobile app development to connect patients and medical staff to valuable health information so they can make informed healthcare decisions.
“Mobile apps are any application that has been designed for a user on a mobile device, generally iPhone or Android devices,” according to David Coleman, Defense Health Agency chief of operations and sustainment, web, and mobile technology program.
“Most people expect that mobile apps are limited to what is available from the Apple app store, or the Google play store, but there are also websites designed to operate on a mobile device and mimic the behavior that we’ve all come to expect from an app on our phone.”
The DHA uses and creates mobile apps because “a massive portion of our community prefers to use a mobile device, and the number of users we see coming to access websites and services from mobile devices continues to grow year over year,” said Neal Machin, DHA deputy chief, web and mobile technology. “It only makes sense to provide access to your user base on the platform that they prefer.”
The use of mobile apps directly supports the MHS and DHA Strategic Plans by leveraging technology to improve patient health care delivery.
Coleman said, “Most patients have a smart phone in their pocket, but probably do not carry around a laptop. Most patients also have exclusive usage of their smart phone, and it is not generally a shared device. This combination of access and privacy gives patients a resource that is constantly available to them and can be tailored to their preferences.”
Beneficiaries have 24/7 access to key information through Military Health System mobile apps.
Most DHA mobile apps are created and/or supported by the DHA’s Web & Mobile Technology Program Management Office and Solution Delivery Division. Machin said that there are groups within the DHA who can develop and field their own mobile capabilities. The DHA Web & Mobile Technology team is available as a service to develop mobile applications.
Machin explained that some apps are niche and have a smaller userbase while others could potentially have thousands of users.
Some apps are designed specifically for patients to use, while others are designed for providers and staff at serving military hospitals and clinics, while others have a broad audience. Currently the DHA operates approximately 30 apps.
Beneficiaries can access their personal information, keep track of appointments and medical prescriptions, while also having access to resources that help maintain medical readiness, mental health, and preventive health.
DHA mobile and TRICARE related apps available, include:
Mental Health
- Breathe2Relax: A portable stress management tool which provides detailed information on the effects of stress on the body. It provides exercises to help with stress management, mood stabilization, and anxiety management.
- Tactical Breather: This app can be used to gain control over physiological and psychological responses to stress.
- PTSD Coach: Provides help for service members experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Virtual Hope Box: Contains simple tools to help users with coping, relaxation, distraction, and positive thinking using personalized audio, video, pictures, games, mindfulness exercises, activity planning, inspirational quotes, and coping statements.
Patient Safety
- Pain and Opioid Safety: This app is for recording and measuring one’s pain as well as information regarding opioids.
- Medication Adherence: Supports providers and patients in ensuring compliance of prescribed medications.
Patient Wellness and Readiness
- Mission Fit: This app offers a 12-week program of exercise routines along with a library of more than 90 exercises and detailed instructions with video, images, and text.
- BioZen: This app can be paired with external sensors to provide users with live data covering a range of biophysiological signals, including electroencephalogram, electromyography, galvanic skin response, electrocardiogram, respiratory rate, and temperature.
Preventive Tools
- QuitSTART: This can help if you’re trying to quit smoking.
Women’s Health
- Decide + Be Ready: A mobile app to help guide service women through the best options for contraception and family planning.
- Deployment Readiness Education for Service Women: Empowers women by providing a one-stop resource for women’s health concerns before, during, and after deployment.
Pediatric Transitional Health
- Pediatric to Adult Transition: The app is designed to provide resources and information to youth who are making the transition from pediatric care to adult care.
Medical Information and Awareness
- Immunization Toolkit: The Immunization Toolkit app provides practical immunization reference information for MHS beneficiaries and providers.
- Internal Medicine: App allows patients, visitors, and staff to quickly access information such as pharmacy wait times, facility directory and quick reference information from their cell phone.
- DHA MedCard: Allows DHA pharmacies to capture and verify the validation dates of third-party payers for DOD beneficiaries. Also provides users with a way to capture other information about themselves and family members that may be helpful when interacting with a pharmacist.
- TRICARE Support Contractor Apps: The page contains TRICARE-provided patient resource apps.
Tools for Providers and Medical Facilities
- Warfighter Brain Health Provider Toolkit: App for MHS providers, includes an automated MACE 2 and is a resource hub for several brain health topics.
- Antimicrobial Stewardship: The Antimicrobial Stewardship app contains an array of information for providers on microbes and drug effectiveness by region.
- DHA Pediatrics: Contains information for pediatricians at various military hospitals and clinics. This password protected app contains a multitude of resources for providers all in one place for quick access.
- Provider Resilience: Provider Resilience gives health care providers tools to protect against burnout and compassion fatigue as they help service members, retirees, and qualified family members.
- While not a mobile app, MHS GENESIS is the Military Health System’s modern electronic health record that provides service members, veterans and their families with 24/7 access to health information, appointment scheduling, filling prescriptions and exchanging messages with their care team. The MHS GENESIS Patient Portal is accessible on any device that has internet connectivity at: myaccess.dmdc.osd.mil.
Story by Robert Hammer
Defense Health Agency