United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-10-16 monographic deposited born digital 13 p. GA 1.13:GAO-02-173T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-173T P0b002ee1803a1e8c f:d02173t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-173T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-173T GAO-02-173T Medical information systems Military personnel Veterans benefits Data collection Information resources management Data integrity Health care services Defense Health Program Defense Manpower Data Center DOD Force Health Protection Plan DOD Operation Joint Endeavor DOD Theater Medical Information Program DOD Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System Testimony A02322 The Departments of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) are establishing a medical surveillance system for the health care needs of military personnel and veterans. A medical surveillance system involves the ongoing collection and analysis of uniform information on deployments, environmental health threats, disease monitoring, medical assessments, and medical encounters. GAO has identified weaknesses in DOD's medical surveillance capability and performance during the Gulf War and Operation Joint Endeavor. Investigations into the unexplained illnesses of Gulf War veterans uncovered many deficiencies in DOD's ability to collect, maintain, and transfer accurate data describing the movement of troops, potential exposures to health risks, and medical incidents during deployment. DOD has several initiatives under way to improve the reliability of deployment information and to enhance its information technology capabilities, though some initiatives are several years away from full implementation. The ability of VA to fulfill its role in serving veterans and providing backup to DOD in times of war will be enhanced as DOD increases its medical surveillance capability. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-173T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-173T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-173T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-173T.pdf GAO-02-173T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-173T Testimony GAO-02-173T; VA and Defense Health Care: Progress and Challenges DOD Faces in Executing a Military Medical Surveillance System; Medical information systems Military personnel Veterans benefits Data collection Information resources management Data integrity Health care services Defense Health Program Defense Manpower Data Center DOD Force Health Protection Plan DOD Operation Joint Endeavor DOD Theater Medical Information Program DOD Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System