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Air Force to restructure for improved readiness and health service support
August 11, 2023 — The Air Force is restructuring the Air Force Medical Service to advance Airmen and Guardian health and readiness. The move also provides better support and advocacy for Department of the Air Force priorities in partnership with the Military Health System... MORE

Military health leaders honor best in military medicine, medical education
May 10, 2023 — Military health leaders celebrated the top faculty members of the year during the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium annual awards dinner May 6 at the Parr Club at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph... MORE

MHS GENESIS Clipboard eases check-in, increases communication
March 30, 2023 — As MHS GENESISopens health.mil continues to deploy across the Military Health System, new capabilities are added to the electronic health record system to enhance the patient and provider experience. Patients can provide medical information or share issues they wish to discuss with their provider through the platform’s “clipboard” feature... MORE

Want to avoid getting sick? Here are some tips to boost your immunity
February 7, 2023 — In the same way that wearing personal protective equipment like gloves, goggles, and masks can minimize your exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses, personal protective nutrition and lifestyle practices can do the same to boost your immunity... MORE

Healthy weight: How diet, lifestyle and mental health impact your eating habits and fitness
July 13, 2022 — Think you might need to lose a little weight? You're not alone. Even in the military, where maintaining physical fitness remains a job requirement and a key component of military readiness, thousands of service members struggle with weight... MORE

Image of an Airman holding a cookie and broccoli.

Military Medicine preparing for next conflict
June 14, 2022 — As the Pentagon prepares today's force for a near-peer fight against a large military adversary, the Military Health System is challenged to provide life-saving support for large-scale and dispersed operations. That’s especially true for the medics supporting troops on the front lines... MORE

ew Jersey Army National Guard combat medics treat simulated casualties during a tactical trauma care course

Future of nursing: Telehealth, more innovation, maybe some robots
May 18, 2022 — The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has fast-tracked many changes to the Military Health System and forced all providers -- especially nurses -- to innovate at near-quantum speed with agility and flexibility... MORE

Pandemic spotlights the vital role of military lab workers
May 3, 2022 — Clinical labs across the Military Health System -- and the staff who operate them -- play a vital role in early detection of illnesses, diagnosis and treatment of diseases like cancer, diabetes or heart disease... MORE

Image of an Airman working in a laboratory.

Top military health leaders discuss future readiness
March 9, 2022 — Top military health leaders recently highlighted the importance of preparing for the future to ensure both a medically ready force and a ready medical force... MORE

Why today’s ‘Gen Z’ is at risk for boot camp injuries
February 10, 2022 — For today's generation of 18-to-25-year-olds, making it through recruit training and successfully transitioning from civilian life into the military is not easy. Today's recruits are coming from a far more sedentary lifestyle compared to previous generations, making their skeletons more prone to injuries because they're not used to the kind of intense activity they will face at basic training... MORE

While the United States military remains “the best in the world,” Department of the Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said Jan. 19 that the Air and Space Forces must move quickly to adapt and modernize to offset actions by China and others that have dented the “presumption of superiority” held by the U.S.

San Antonio Market leaders ask for patience during MHS GENESIS transition, COVID-19 uptick
January 18, 2022 — Beneficiaries are experiencing some delays in services due to the high levels of COVID-19 transmission in the community and the San Antonio Market’s transition to MHS GENESIS on Jan. 22... MORE

PTSD: Seeking out mental health care is the first step to wellness
June 29, 2021 — Service members, family members and veterans who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder may repeatedly re-experience their ordeal as nightmares, flashbacks or frightening thoughts, especially when exposed to events that remind them of their original trauma, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... MORE

Image of an Airman with his hands crossed.

Reducing the stigma, encouraging mental health care in the military
May 19, 2021 — In the military, the stigma of mental health is grounded in the cultural misperception that a service member must have "zero defects" to be mission-ready. While the Department of Defense strives to identify and eliminate barriers to care that service members face regarding mental health treatment, stigma remains a significant issue within the military... MORE

MHS GENESIS Patient Portal expands new features
April 9, 2021 — MHS GENESIS' patient portal is rapidly increasing in size, capability and usability... MORE

DOD health system archives COVID-19 vaccination data
March 18, 2021 — MHS GENESIS, the Defense Department's new electronic health record system, has recently created a large digital record of COVID-19 vaccinations administered to service members and their families... MORE

A U.S. Army Soldier from 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, receives his second and final COVID-19 vaccine dose Feb. 24 in Wiesbaden, Germany.

DOD experts explain science behind COVID-19 vaccines
February 2, 2021 — Almost six weeks after the Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorization for the first two COVID-19 vaccines, many questions have arisen concerning their efficacy in attacking the SARS-CoV-2 virus and deadly COVID-19 disease. To better understand how COVID-19 vaccines work, MHS Communications spoke to two medical experts who have been intimately involved in the Department of Defense’s effort to develop and roll out vaccines for Americans... MORE

JBSA medical facilities support Operation Warp Speed
November 25, 2020 — Joint Base San Antonio’s Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, or WHASC, and Brooke Army Medical Center are supporting the Department of Defense on Operation Warp Speed, which seeks to pioneer vaccines for COVID-19. The vaccine trial began at JBSA Nov. 5... MORE

Personnel interested in participating in the Phase III AstraZeneca trials at selected DOD locations should visit www.CoronavirusPreventionNetwork.org, click on “Volunteer Now,” and complete the survey using the appropriate DOD Site Code.

SAMHS COVID-19 Nurse Info Line discontinued
August 25, 2020 — The SAMHS COVID-19 Nurse Info Line has been discontinued as of 5 p.m. Aug. 27... MORE

After duty hours, call the MHS Nurse Advice Line at 1-800-TRICARE (824-2273) or visit MHSNurseAdviceline.com to speak or chat with a nurse.

Combat medical innovations carry over to COVID-19 care
July 28, 2020 — When the pandemic struck the United States, the combat joint trauma system, made up of a panel of physicians, quickly took form to gather data on COVID-positive patients in the Military Health System... MORE

Navy Lt. Cmdr. T. Blake Van Brunt collects a sample for a COVID-19 test aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort, May 1, 2020. All personnel aboard the ship were tested as the Comfort transited the Atlantic Ocean, returning to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, following its mission in New York City in support of the nation’s COVID-19 response efforts.

Military health system changes focus on readiness
February 27, 2020 — The Military Health System is implementing significant reforms aimed at building a more integrated and effective system of readiness and health, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs said... MORE

Dr. Courtney Humphrey, an optometrist with the 633rd Aerospace Medicine Squadron, holds a lens used to look into a patient's eye at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., Jan. 27, 2020. (Photo Credit: Airman 1st Class Sarah Dowe)