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The Military Health System is one of America’s largest and most complex health care institutions, and the world’s preeminent military health care delivery operation. Our MHS saves lives on the battlefield, combats infectious disease around the world, and is responsible for providing health services through both Click to closeDirect CareDirect care refers to military hospitals and clinics, also known as “military treatment facilities” and “MTFs.”direct care and Click to closeprivate sector careNetwork and non-network TRICARE-authorized civilian health care professionals, pharmacies, and suppliers.private sector care to approximately 9.6 million beneficiaries, composed of uniformed service members, military retirees, and family members.
The MHS enables the National Defense Strategygoes to the Defense.gov website by providing a Medically Ready Force, a Ready Medical Force, and improving the health of all those entrusted to its care. We are more than combat medicine. The MHS is a complex system that weaves together...
- Health care delivery
- Medical education
- Public health
- Private sector partnerships
- Cutting edge medical research and development
Our Mission
The missions of the MHS are complex and interrelated:
- To ensure America’s active duty and reserve-component personnel are healthy so they can complete their national security missions.
- To ensure that all active and reserve medical personnel in uniform are trained and ready to provide medical care in support of operational forces around the world.
- To provide a medical benefit commensurate with the service and sacrifice of more than 9.6 million active duty personnel, military retirees and their families.
Read the Military Health System Strategygoes to MHS Strategy Commonly Requested Information
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Mar 28, 2024
The MHS Conference is a four-day annual conference providing military health care providers an opportunity for sharing knowledge, innovative ideas, lessons learned, and new developments and enables health care and industry partner engagement in delivering patient-centered care for military beneficiaries.
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Jan 19, 2024
On Dec. 6, 2023, the Deputy Secretary of Defense signed a memo directing the stabilization of the MHS, adding the capacity to reattract beneficiaries, improve access to care in military hospitals and clinics, and increase opportunities to sustain military clinical readiness for our medical forces.
Publication
Dec 15, 2023
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8.65 MB
The MHS strategy aligns to and supports the National Defense Strategy, the National Military Strategy, and the National Biodefense Strategy and Implementation Plan. This strategy orients the MHS and its resourcing and planning processes to the rest of DOD, serving as a roadmap to becoming a requirements driven organization and guiding the system into ...
Article
Oct 16, 2023
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Dr. Lester Martinez-López, believes that every decision he has made, or that was made for him throughout his life, led him to being nominated by President Joe Biden in 2022 to his current position as the head of the Military Health System.
Article
Oct 12, 2023
“The Military Health System is changing … changing how we organize to counter threats that surround us, how we deliver care on the battlefield or at home, and how we leverage the tools and technologies of this digital age to better service our patients,” said Defense Health Agency Director U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland in a recent message to ...
Article
Oct 6, 2022
Defense Health Agency celebrates its 9th year; continues to grow military medical mission.
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May 17, 2022
Dr. William Williams Keen Jr was a medical surgeon during the Civil War who afterwards advocated and researched medical advances so the horrors of Civil War-era medicine would not occur again. He also served in the Army during World War I.
Article
May 17, 2022
From the development of the typhoid vaccine to the invention of the photomicrograph for the study of pathological specimens, the museum has been involved in the forefront of military medical research.
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Feb 22, 2021
The 2021 Military Health System Research Symposium IS CANCELLED due to COVID-19 concerns. FAQs related to the cancellation: https://mhsrs.amedd.army.mil/SitePages/Home.aspx
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Last Updated: January 02, 2024