United States Army Medical Command
Encyclopedia
The U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) is a major command of the U.S. Army that provides command and control of the Army's fixed-facility medical, dental, and veterinary treatment facilities, providing preventive care, medical research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...

 and training institutions.

MEDCOM is commanded by the Army Surgeon General, currently Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker
Eric Schoomaker
Lieutenant General Eric B. Schoomaker, United States Army is the 42nd Surgeon General of the United States Army and Commanding General, United States Army Medical Command, and a practicing hematologist. He previously served as Commanding General, North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter...

. The Surgeon General is also head of the U.S. Army Medical Department (the AMEDD).

Structure and subordinate commands

MEDCOM is divided into Regional Medical Commands that oversee day-to-day operations in military treatment facilities, exercising command and control over the medical treatment facilities in their regions. There are currently five of these regional commands:
  • Europe Regional Medical Command
  • Southern Regional Medical Command
  • Northern Regional Medical Command
  • Pacific Regional Medical Command
  • Western Regional Medical Command

  • Additional subordinate commands of MEDCOM include:
    • Army Medical Department Center & School
    • U.S. Army Public Health Command (Provisional), (known as the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion & Preventive Medicine prior to 1 October 2009)Not correct. The AMEDD Center and School and the Center for Health Promotion & Preventive Medicine were two completely different commands.
    • U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
    • Warrior Transition Command
  • The U.S. Army Dental Command
    United States Army Dental Command
    The U.S. Army Dental Command, known as DENCOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Medical Command that provides command and control of the Army's fixed-facility dental treatment facilities, preventive care, dental research, development and training institutions, dental treatment to...

    , known as "DENCOM", is the major subordinate command of MEDCOM responsible for providing dental treatment to ensure the oral health and readiness of the force; provide a trained dental force for worldwide deployment; and structure DENCOM for evolving missions of the Army.

In garrison (peacetime)

MEDCOM maintains day-to-day health care for soldiers, retired soldiers and the families of both. Despite the wide range of responsibilities involved in providing health care in traditional settings as well as on the battlefield, the Army Medical Department's quality of care compares very favorably with that of civilian health organizations, when measured by civilian standards. Many Army medical facilities report on their own quality-of-care standards on their individual website.

Deployments

When Army field hospitals deploy, most clinical professional and support personnel come from MEDCOM's fixed facilities. In addition to support of combat operations, deployments can be for humanitarian
Humanitarianism
In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...

 assistance, peacekeeping, and other stability and support operations. Under the Professional Officer Filler System (PROFIS), up to 26 percent of MEDCOM physicians and 43 percent of MEDCOM nurses are sent to field units during a full deployment. To replace PROFIS losses, Reserve units and Individual Mobilization Augmentees (non-unit reservists) are mobilized to work in medical treatment facilities. The department also provides trained medical specialists to the Army's combat medical units, which are assigned directly to combatant commanders.

Many Army Reserve and Army National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...

 units deploy in support of the Army Medical Department. The Army depends heavily on its Reserve component for medical support—about 63 percent of the Army's medical forces are in the Reserve component.

History

As the post–Cold War Army shrank, the U.S. Army’s Human Services Command (HSC) decided to change the way it did business and operate more like a corporation. In 1992, HSC launched “Gateway To Care”, a businesslike approach to health-care delivery. This was to be localized managed care, with improved quality, access and cost. In a design based more on catchment-area management than the previous “CHAMPUS Reform Initiative” (CRI), U.S. Army hospital commanders received more responsibility and managerial authority. Eleven “Gateway to Care sites opened in the spring of 1992. By that fall, all HSC facilities had submitted business plans which were favorably received. Starting in 1994, “Gateway To Care” was gradually absorbed into a new regional Defense Department tri-service managed-care plan called TRICARE
TRICARE
TRICARE, formerly known as the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services , is a health care program of the United States Department of Defense Military Health System. TRICARE provides civilian health benefits for military personnel, military retirees, and their dependents,...

, which was modeled on CRI.

In August 1993, the U.S. Army Chief of Staff approved a plan to reorganize the AMEDD. The merger of several medical elements resulted in a new, expanded medical major command under the Surgeon General. In October 1993, the "U.S. Army Medical Command (Provisional)" began a one-year process of replacing HSC and absorbing other AMEDD elements. Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Alcide M. LaNoue commanded the provisional MEDCOM, while Maj. Gen. Richard D. Cameron continued as HSC commander. In November 1993, DENCOM and VETCOM were formed as provisional commands under the MEDCOM, to provide real command chains for more efficient control of dental and veterinary units—the first time those specialties had been commanded by the same authorities who provided their technical guidance. The next month, seven MEDCEN commanders assumed command and control over care in their regions. The new "Health Service Support Areas" (HSSAs), under the MEDCOM, had more responsibility and authority than the old HSC regions. In March 1994, a merger of Medical Research and Development Command, the Medical Material Agency and the Health Facilities Planning Agency resulted in creation of the Medical Research, Development, Acquisition and Logistics Command (MRDALC), subordinate to the provisional MEDCOM. The MRDALC was soon renamed the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC). Then, in June 1994, an additional HSSA was formed to supervise medical care in Europe, replacing the 7th Medical Command, which inactivated. That summer, the Army Environmental Hygiene Agency formed the basis of the provisional Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (CHPPM).

Thus, in an unprecedented process of unification, U.S. Army medicine gradually came together in a new home under the command of the Surgeon General. Except for the field medical units commanded by the combat commanders, virtually all of Army medicine is now part of the MEDCOM. The MEDCOM became fully operational, dropping the "provisional," in October 1994. In 1996, the HSSAs were renamed Regional Medical Commands.

See also

  • Army Medical Department (United States)
    Army Medical Department (United States)
    The Army Medical Department of the U.S. Army – known as the AMEDD – comprises the Army's six medical Special Branches of officers and medical enlisted soldiers. It was established as the "Army Hospital" in July 1775 to coordinate the medical care required by the Continental Army during the...

     ("the AMEDD")
    • Including: Medical Corps, Nurse Corps, Dental Corps, Veterinary Corps, Medical Service Corps, Medical Specialist Corps
  • :Category:Medical units and formations of the United States Army

External links

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