ALCOAST 233/18 - JUN 2018 ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE UPDATES

R 210718 JUN 18
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-11//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS //N06010//
ALCOAST 233/18
COMDTNOTE 6010
SUBJ: ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE UPDATES
1. The Improving Access to Health Care Working Group was chartered to assess current
services, redundancies, and gaps in Coast Guard organic health care services and
recommend areas for analysis and potential improvement.
2. The Working Group met with Area and District staff and made site visits to 36 Coast
Guard clinics and interviewed command cadre, clinical staff and patients to ensure
stakeholder feedback was incorporated in the final report.
3. The Working Group made 10 recommendations to improve access to health care within
the Coast Guard. The 10 recommendations were divided into Immediate Actions, Short
Term Actions and Follow-On Actions.
a. Immediate Actions – the Immediate Actions included closing provider gaps by
diversifying the recruiting sources of the workforce and implementing a new electronic
health record.
b. Short Term Actions – the Short Term Actions included creating a staffing standard
working group, developing clinic administrator screening and training, and improving
the Reserve Health Readiness Program.
c. Follow-On Actions – the Follow-On Actions included analyzing the remote areas,
standardizing clinics, improving Health Services Technician workforce management,
standardizing metrics, and establishing a health care knowledge working group.
4. We are focusing on the most critical recommendation - to close health care provider
gaps by diversifying the recruiting sources of the provider workforce. The Health,
Safety, Work-Life Service Center has been working with the Health Services program to
close provider gaps by initiating contracts for 16 contract providers and by
establishing 10 civilian provider positions.
5. To improve health care delivery, we are increasing the number of Certified Medical
Assistants and Health Benefits Advisors in the field.
6. POC: CAPT Gerald Taylor, COMDT (CG-1121), Chief, Operational Medicine, 202-475-5211,
E-mail: Gerald.N.Taylor@uscg.mil.
7. RADM Erica G. Schwartz, Director, Health, Safety, and Work-Life, sends.
8. Internet release authorized.