This post is also available in: heעברית (Hebrew)

The US military wants to improve its medical data and networks through the adaption of new technologies. A consortium of medical enterprise technology developers has been asked to develop prototypes to link medical data, software and situational awareness across different parts of the military, from research labs to tactical responders. 

The solicitation adds another health data interoperability project to the ongoing major electronic health records overhaul programs the DOD is working on.

The overall objective of the interoperable Medical Command and Control System – Joint (iMCCS-J) is to support the integration of medical data with the Air Force Research Laboratory, Tactical Assault Kit (TAK) suite of software and hardware. 

The request “aims to establish prototypes with the ability to provide commanders at all levels with visual understanding of how medical capabilities are arrayed throughout the operational environment,” the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) wrote in a pre-announcement. That visibility will come from linking the disparate networks and software medical personnel in the military use.

iMCCS-J will ingest and visualize data to identify medical unit locations, unit capacity status, medical evacuation unit capacity status, and patient status. 

At a higher level, iMCCS-J will parse specific data elements from near-real-time operational datasets to inform the intelligence cycle through wound types and rates which communicates enemy effectiveness, supports trend analysis, etc. 

The language and overall approach appear to mirror other major network modernization initiatives, such as Joint All-Domain Command and Control – JADC2 — the new operating concept the military will rely on to be able to link networks together and create a common data architecture for commanders to control troops and weapons in air, land, sea, space and cyber conflicts, all at once. The similarity here is creating networks that work together, not just within their own domain.

The DOD currently anticipates spending $5.8 million on a prototype, with more money potentially available for follow-on work, according to fedscoop.com.