Medical Total Force Management: Assessing Readiness and Cost

Abstract

The military medical force is an essential element of Department of Defense (DoD) warfighting capability, saving life and limb on the battlefield and maintaining theeffectiveness of warfighters in the field. Some of these military personnel also support the provision of beneficiary healthcare, working in military treatment facilities (MTFs) to maintain their readiness (clinical proficiency) by providing healthcare to military members, dependents, and retirees. The medical force is also one of the largest and most costly forces to maintain in DoD. The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P and R)), working with the Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE), has led a series of studies, finding that the medical force historically under-staffs specialties required for DoDs operational mission (e.g., emergency medicine physicians and surgeons), over-staffs specialties used for beneficiary healthcare (e.g., pediatricians and obstetricians), and, overall, maintains a larger Active Duty medical force than is required. Further, the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission and a recent National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine report find that the medical force does not have access to the volume of workload needed for training related to its operational mission. These force mix and readiness challenges are a major focus of the Military Health System (MHS) reforms directed in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The office of Total Force Manpower and Resources (TFM and RS), within USD(P and R), is responsible for force mix policy and analysis. TFM and RS has led a wide range of studies on force mix issues, including medical total force management.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2018
Accession Number
AD1051983

Entities

People

  • Brian Q. Rieksts
  • Bryan Q. Roberts
  • James M. Bishop
  • John E. Whitley
  • Kristen M. Guerrera
  • Linda Wu
  • Philip M. Lurie
  • Sarah K. Burns
  • Timothy J. Wojtecki

Organizations

  • Institute for Defense Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Business Administration
  • Combat Casualty Care
  • Employment
  • Health Services
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Hospitals
  • Military Medicine
  • Military Personnel
  • National Security
  • Patient Care
  • Personnel Management
  • Therapy

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Medical or Health Care Field.