Use of Information Technology Systems for Regional Health Care Information-Sharing and Coordination During Large-Scale Medical Surge Events.

Medical surge events require effective coordination between multiple partners. Unfortunately, the information technology (IT) systems currently used for information-sharing by emergency responders and managers in the United States are insufficient to coordinate with health care providers, particularly during large-scale regional incidents. The numerous innovations adopted for the COVID-19 response and continuing advances in IT systems for emergency management and health care information-sharing suggest a more promising future.

Validation of Opportunities to Strengthen the National Disaster Medical System: The Military-Civilian NDMS Interoperability Study Quantitative Step.

The National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Pilot Program was authorized by Congress to improve the interoperability, capabilities, and capacity of the NDMS. To develop a roadmap for planning and research, the mixed methods Military-Civilian NDMS Interoperability Study (MCNIS) was conducted in 2020-2021. The initial qualitative phase of the study identified critical themes for improvement: (1) coordination, collaboration, and communication; (2) funding and incentives to increase private sector preparedness; (3) staffing capacity and competencies; (4) clinical and support surge capacity; (5) training, education, and exercises between federal and private sector partners; and (6) metrics, benchmarks, and modeling to track NDMS performance.

Opportunities to Strengthen the National Disaster Medical System: The Military-Civilian NDMS Interoperability Study.

The definitive care component of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) may not be able to effectively manage tens of thousands of casualties resulting from a catastrophic disaster incident or overseas conflict. To address this potential national security threat, Congress authorized the US Secretary of Defense to conduct the NDMS Pilot Program to improve the interoperability, special capabilities, and patient capacity of the NDMS. The pilot's first phase was the Military-Civilian NDMS Interoperability Study, designed to identify broad themes to direct further NDMS research.

Estimated incidence of multiple sclerosis among United States Armed Forces personnel using the Defense Medical Surveillance System.

Background: The comprehensive longitudinal medical records of the U.S. Armed Forces provide a valuable tool to study the epidemiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) in persons from a diverse demography.

In-flight hypoxia events in tactical jet aviation: characteristics compared to normobaric training.

Introduction: Hypoxia continues to be a significant threat in military aviation. In an attempt to counter the hypoxia threat, military jet aviators receive periodic training using a reduced oxygen breathing device (ROBD). This study explored the characteristics of in-flight hypoxia events among tactical jet aviators and compared reported symptoms to those experienced during ROBD training.

Sclerosing cervicitis: report of a skull base lesion with literature review.

Background: Invasive fibrosclerotic lesions of the head and neck outside of the thyroid and orbit are extremely rare. To date 13 cases of sclerosing cervicitis have been described in the literature.

Methods: We present a case of a sclerosing inflammatory lesion encountered at the skull base in a 49-year-old woman.