Catching up with MHS GENESIS

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Trenten Walters
  • 81st Training Wing Public Affairs

Keesler's 81st Medical Group successfully passed the initial 90-day mark of the migration to the new Military Health System Genesis on Dec. 24, 2022.

MHS GENESIS is a consolidated system for all health records for military personnel, veterans and their families and its standardization allows medical records to transfer seamlessly between on and off-base medical providers.

Members of the 81st Medical Group began training for the adoption of MHS GENESIS in July 2022 to educate and prepare personnel for the go-live date in September 2022.

“The transition has not been without its hiccups in the beginning,” said Maj. Joel Hughes, 81st Medical Group clinical and laboratory geneticist. “Most of us weren't around in the military when the first Composite Health Care System (CHCS) or other systems went live, so we haven't seen a new system implemented like this, but we’ve been able to grow and improve with it.”

For the first 90 days the 81st MDG informed its base populace of longer wait times and less appointment availability as staff and patients got adjusted to the new system.

“After our 90-day mark we noticed help desk tickets from providers changing from common computer questions to how to make a note better, or how to use quick phrases better,” said Hughes. “Now that we see our personnel and our patients getting comfortable, we can start scaling up to full capacity.”

Starting this January, most clinics and facilities will be returning to full appointment capacity. With providers’ and patients’ new familiarity with the MHG GENESIS software, the 81st MDG has identified increased benefits from the system.

GENESIS allows providers to view patient notes more efficiently due to its standardization across the Department of Defense and in the future may provide better communication with the Veteran Affairs office through seamless viewing of electronic copies of medical records, eliminating the need for retirees and veterans to carry physical copies.

MHS GENESIS also allows visibility of the metrics of which services patients are utilizing overall.

MHS Genesis also brings an updated patient messaging capability to its patients through Patient Messaging. This gives patients the ability to send and receive messages from their provider and physicians the ability to respond in a secured way directly from within the electronic health record.

“This has the potential to be a great benefit because it gives patients more ability to speak or ask questions to their provider while also limiting phone calls or in person visits,” said Hughes. “Patient Messaging isn’t meant to replace an encounter but to extend communication to patients.”

Nurses, technicians and physicians have all been working to adjust on a daily basis since the go-live date of MHS Genesis. Although the first 90 days have passed, the 81st MDG continues to take feedback from patients and offer support.