Medical outprocessing goes digital Published Dec. 15, 2004 By Master Sgt. Bernadette Worsham 506th Expeditionary Medical Squadron KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- A new computer-based health assessment system will help Airmen returning from deployments get back to their families more quickly. The U.S. Central Command Air Forces surgeon general recently started using the computer based post-deployment health assessments theaterwide.The assessment is now a part of the database used to track Airmen’s immunizations, said Capt. Anthony Davis, a 506th Expeditionary Medical Squadron public health officer. At the end of each day, all post-deployment data is sent to a central database at Brooks City Base, Texas. The information is used to identify an individual’s exposure to environmental, physical and psychological stressors, as well as immunization updates, he said. “In the past, the normal post-deployment process required an individual to fill out the (assessment). A doctor would review it with the individual and then put it in (his or her) medical records,” Captain Davis said. “Once the individual returned to (his or her) home station, a public health technician would enter the information from the assessment into (a) database. The information would then be downloaded to Brooks’ central database.“With the new process, an individual can sit down at a workstation and complete the (assessment), and by the end of the day, the information is sent directly to the central database. The result is real-time access to information,” he said. Because the information is sent in real-time, it allows for quicker inprocessing at home station, Captain Davis said.“The home station uses the information to reintegrate the individual back into (his or her) unit, part of the Air Forces’ newly adopted reintegration program,” Captain Davis said. “The home station unit can create an inprocessing line and tailor it to the services required by those (returning from deployment),” he said. “Individuals can turn in equipment, receive shots and (schedule) follow-up appointments -- all at the same time.”Aviano Air Base, Italy, was the benchmark for the new system.“At Aviano, the inprocessing time has decreased from one week, to two days, and now returning individuals can inprocess Aviano within half of a day. This should become the norm at all home stations,” Captain Davis said.“The Air Force is looking out for the individual, it is a whole-person concept,” he said. “The short-term benefit allows individuals to get back to their families quicker, and the long-term benefit is the efficient gathering of (health-related) data . . . and to provide documentation (so) individuals receive the medical benefits they deserve.”