Shipcom, a leading global provider of enterprise and healthcare solutions, announced today they have been granted Authority to Operate under the DoD Information Assurance Accreditation and Certification Process. Shipcom's healthcare solutions have been deployed at the 81st Medical Group Hospital during a proof-of-concept project with the Air Force Surgeon General's office to improve clinical and business processes. Shipcom's solutions utilize Radiofrequency Identification (RFID) and additional Automated Identification & Data Collection (AIDC) technologies for applications including Asset Management, Patient Flow, Surgical Instrument/Tray Management and others. The ATO is enterprise wide across the Air Force Medical Service.
"During our project execution, Shipcom realized that the military's care system has many of the same challenges as the rest of the healthcare industry, including information technology application silos. In the military this has a tendency to be compounded given the security requirements for our Armed Forces" said Scott Cobb, Senior VP Federal & Healthcare Systems at Shipcom. "Our ability to meet the DIACAP requirements will allow us to connect and operate our solutions within the AF network and allow integration into DoD's healthcare systems."
Shipcom's AIDC project has encompassed several areas of the hospital, but the ability to track and manage mobile medical equipment and other assets is at the core. Shipcom believes that Asset Management is a prerequisite for other applications as it provides an enterprise infrastructure for real time visibility that can be leveraged and integrated into additional solutions. DMLSS (Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support) is the medical logistic system that provides a standard across the DoD to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare delivery.
DMLSS is currently developing a bidirectional interface to allow RFID Systems access to information and to the ability to update DMLSS with current location of assets. Garry Duvall, DMLSS RFID Lead in the Defense Health Services Systems (DHSS) Program Management Office (PMO), states "We have been coordinating with industry leaders in the design of this interface to provide maximum benefits to DoD healthcare personnel. However, each RFID system must obtain an ATO to use this interface. Shipcom is the first system to receive their ATO."