Modernizing healthcare services through digital solutions

Digital platforms are rapidly shaping beneficiary expectations for their care experience. Among America’s Service Member population, there is increasing demand for access to the Military Health System (MHS) via self-service portals and digital options, as active duty, reserve and retired U.S. Military personnel, along with their dependents, seek more convenient solutions.

While digital solutions won’t replace face-to-face interactions anytime soon, these solutions help make it easier for recipients to navigate the health system and connect to different information and modalities of care. This type of digitally enabled navigation is outcome focused and increases the likelihood that the right patient receives the right service at the right time and place.

During a discussion about “Optimizing a Care Continuum through Digital Transformation,” Brigadier General (Brig. Gen.) Lance Raney, Commanding General, Medical Readiness Command, East, and Director, Defense Health Network East and Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Peder Swanson, DHA Account Executive at Optum Serve, emphasized the importance of investing in the system, noting that digital solutions could help the Armed Forces better support service members in their daily lives, as well as increasing overall readiness. The DHA and armed forces have the unique requirement to remain ready for large scale contingencies. Continuing the delivery of high-quality care while embarking on any modernization effort must be done with readiness in mind. As medical professionals work to meet these dual demands, many face challenges witnessed across the civilian healthcare system, such as supply chain issues and increased demand.

The MHS is undergoing a digital transformation effort that will place tools and resources in the beneficiary’s hands, encouraging them to be an active contributor as they navigate their health benefits. A digital front door, known as ‘My Military Health,’ is central to the digital transformation. This technology-enabled resource is designed for beneficiaries, providers and care teams to facilitate this value-based care transformation. This change delivers streamlined services directly to MHS beneficiaries, while also enhancing the experience for providers and care teams, enabling world-class, high-quality healthcare. 

The Accelerate Care Transformation Initiative 

Addressing Service Members’ needs cannot be done alone. Pursuing partnerships across all stakeholders, including trusted industry leaders, is central to driving a return on investment. For the team at Optum Serve, supporting the military community is central to our mission. As the dedicated federal business of Optum and UnitedHealth Group, employees of Optum Serve are experts in their field with decades of experience serving and delivering results to the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies.

“Our core tenets are to create better consumer experiences for all of our beneficiaries, make healthcare more accessible and help people live better lives. This aligns with our enterprise mission to help make the health system work better for everyone,” said Brig. Gen. Ret. Swanson.

This same commitment to innovation and transformation in the lives of Service Members shines through in DHA’s ‘Accelerate Care Transformation Initiative’. Taking place across sites in Portsmouth, VA, Wright-Patterson, OH, Eglin and Jacksonville, FL and Fort Benning, GA, the initiative looks to deploy modern technology in phases, allowing for the DHA to introduce changes in a controlled manner while avoiding disruption.

“Our patients are still conditioned to wait in line for various things. We’ve taken that for granted for quite some time. It’s time for us to move beyond that, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” said Brig. Gen. Raney. To support this need, Optum Serve is investing in modern digital services that support greater access to care. Veterans can now self-schedule appointments, connect with providers through secure messaging and access virtual nurse support. 

Moving Forward

The DHA Accelerate Care Transformation Initiative is currently live at five locations, and the lessons learned and data from these pilot locations will inform a future nationwide rollout. As the model evolves and scales, Brig. Gen. Raney outlined the critical need for the agency to develop robust, data-driven metrics that can accurately measure the true value and impact of this approach. This could involve tracking factors, including cost reductions, improvements in clinical outcomes or other key performance indicators.

Rigorously assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of these new care delivery models will be pivotal as the transformation progresses. By closely aligning digital transformation efforts with well-defined key performance indicators and other quantifiable measures of success, agencies can start to build flexible, adaptable models primed for long-term, sustainable impact.

“At its core, the transformation of the MHS is a change management initiative,” said Brig. Gen. Ret. Swanson. “I believe the DHA, VHA and other federal health organizations need the industry to be leaning not just toward the government client but toward each other as industry partners.”

Through collaboration, we can better support each other and enhance our government clients’ efforts to develop connected digital ecosystems that prioritize beneficiaries and care teams. We’re stronger together, and by collaborating we can build digital ecosystems designed to support beneficiaries and care teams across the public sector. 

About Optum Serve

Optum Serve is the federal health services business of Optum and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH). We are proud to partner with the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs and other organizations to help modernize the U.S. health system and improve the health and well-being of those we collectively serve.