The Department of Defense (DoD) says digital records for things like MRI and CAT scans, for critically injured soldiers will no longer be put on a CD and given to the soldiers to take with them, but will rather be sent electronically to the Veterans Affairs Polytrauma Center in Tampa, Florida, by trained personnel from Walter Reed.
Records from the National Naval Medical Center Bethesda will also be sent electronically, using the local Picture Archive and Communication System (PACS) at Walter Reed or Bethesda.
However, the Center in Tampa isn't the only place wounded veterans are sent for care. According to the Pentagon, the majority of critically wounded patients are transferred from Walter Reed, Bethesda, and Brooke Army Medical Center to the four VA polytrauma centers located in Tampa; Richmond, Virginia; Minneapolis, Minnesota and Palo Alto, California.
Currently only the Tampa center will receive the documents electronically. However, the Pentagon says it will roll out the plan to the other locations as soon as possible.
Dr. Stephen Jones, the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, says, "Once again, we have shown the tremendous progress that can be made when DoD and the VA work together, united by a single purpose and guided by our determination to improve the healthcare for our returning service members."
