Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel gave the military six weeks to improve the health care facilities in its clinics and hospitals, citing a recent review of these services by military and civilian experts.
During a Pentagon news conference, Hagel compared 54 hospitals and hundreds of military-run clinics both in the United States and overseas to an average civilian health facility. He received a 645-page report from a panel of military and civilian specialists who reviewed the health care system that serves at least 1.35 million members and their families.
According to the New York Times, the review was initiated after The New York Times filed an inquiry on the quality of care and safety provided by the hospitals managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The New York Times wrote that the system "provides good quality of care that is safe and timely." But almost all hospitals failed to meet the higher standard set for safety, easy access to treatment, and quality of care.
The review also noted that access to care is satisfactory, although 20 percent of the hospitals included in the review failed to attend to patients who required specialized care within 24 hours. The panel gave the system a "mixed" rating. This supported an earlier report that stated mortality rates for infants are remarkably low in military hospitals. Further, mothers who gave birth in these facilities are also more likely to suffer complications compared to those who had babies in civilian health care facilities.
Aside from the initial directive to immediately address these issues, Hagel will monitor the progress of the "system wide improvement" and ordered the hospitals to constantly update him and make the information available to the public too.
The directive definitely stirred the focus of the military from financial management to the quality of care.
"This is not unique to them. If you miss your budget, within a week you are in someone's office," said Dr. Peter J. Pronovost, senior vice president for patient safety and quality at Johns Hopkins Medicine, to the New York Times. "We have not applied that kind of rigorous discipline to quality and safety."
