sponsor content What's this?
Optimizing Individual Health Readiness for the National Guard and Reserve
Presented by
Optum Serve
Presented by
Optum Serve
The medical readiness of the National Guard and Reserve Service Members is critical to our national security, ensuring soldiers are prepared to serve. Optum Serve understands this, and is uniquely positioned to support National Guard and Reserve forces.
Optum Serve has performed medical readiness services for an average of 350,000 Service Members per year with an average of 2.1 million services performed. We have a history of helping all the Service Components achieve and maintain over 80% medical readiness, and we are committed to the 90% Total Force Medical Readiness Goal.
We have a demonstrated track record in this space, with 20+ years execution experience in the Reserve Health Readiness Program. And we continueto adapt, innovate, and add value as the environment and the readiness requirements of the force change. This involves not only automation and system improvements, but process change and enhancements to the method of service delivery.
Delivering health readiness services where, when, and how they’re needed
Our purpose-built network is capable of executing seamless readiness events at scale. Throughout Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) we field tested the network, supporting individual and unit-wide medical readiness events while tracking overall readiness.
“We have foundational experience providing support to the National Guard and Reserve through mass mobilization events like those preceding Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom,” said Courtney Morisson, Director of Program Management, Optum Serve. “Pair that with our enterprise-wide capabilities and extensive national network of providers, and that’s a combination that can’t be found anywhere else.”
Our focus is on providing high quality service when supporting medical readiness events — and our people are passionate about this work. When urgent support was needed in Memphis this winter, Optum sent people by plane, train, and automobile to deliver supplies and equipment in order to conduct 57 out of 58 scheduled events, at a time when the weather had grounded delivery companies.
“Our Nation’s Service Members are the best among us, and they deserve the best we have to offer,” explained Brigadier General Peder Swanson, U.S. Army (Retired), Vice President and DoD Account Executive for Optum Serve. “Service Members deserve a simple and transparent experience in the delivery of readiness and deployment of health-related services. An evolution in the digital user experience is here and must be delivered to the DoD — personalized, interoperable, and empowering.”
Optum is able to deliver this level of service due to our organizational structure which maintains open lines of authority between Executive Leadership, Program Management, and Service Delivery teams, ensuring that communication flows quickly and effectively across all levels and allowing us to address issues immediately.
By knocking down silos we’re able to better address the needs of the Service Member (SM)
Over the past few years Optum Serve has expanded its technological capabilities for delivering health services that generate readiness. As program requirements evolve, Optum Serve remains committed to helping National Guard and Reserve Unit Commanders enhance medical readiness.
For instance, recent investments in cloud computing have enabled Optum Serve to build a streamlined solution for tracking individual medical readiness (IMR) standards and providing real-time unit readiness information. This feature will allow National Guard and Reserve Unit Commanders to have a better understanding of who is ready to deploy when the call comes.
Our intuitive, role-based user experience platform empowers SMs to take control of individual health readiness requirements with streamlined efficiencies for users and military staff, including priority updates to SC databases of record.
Anticipating and meeting future readiness needs
Today, Optum Serve provides a diverse range of approaches to deliver individual health readiness solutions, from event-based services to distributed clinic-based services, to mobile or virtual services delivered across the nation through a robust, purpose-built network.
With threats continuing to evolve, DoD will require modernization in all areas to retain a competitive advantage. We are primed and ready to do this work — not just delivering the existing solution, but bringing fresh ideas and re-imagined service delivery to the table, with increased automation and information flows.
As tensions rise around the world, meeting IMR standards will remain crucial. To that end, Optum invests $8.6B+ annually to improve clinical information that is essential to care, coverage, and quality. Beyond medical readiness insights, Optum Serve invests in systems and solutions that support streamlined user experiences, with digital access portals that empower individual users.
“We give them access to schedule appointments for themselves through a simple, easy-to-use self-scheduling interface, and allow them to see their IMR status,” said Mark Swofford, CEO of Optum Serve Health Services.
Incorporating defined client needs into ongoing technological innovation and proven logistical capabilities sets Optum Serve apart. Combining efficient administrative support services and reduced operational cost, Optum Serve is prepared to improve unit and Service Member readiness with responsive, high quality, on-time service delivery.
For Optum Serve, gathering feedback to inform the evolution of health readiness delivery is central to enhancing and increasing the core capabilities that support the DoD’s approach. Our enterprise capabilities ensure that National Guard and Reserve health readiness service delivery will be conducted responsively, so that Service Members are ready to respond to the Nation’s call.
This content is made possible by our sponsor Optum Serve; it is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of GovExec’s editorial staff."
NEXT STORY: 6 service delivery pillars government should prioritize for 2025 and beyond.