WASHINGTON – The Department of Defense Military Health System has signed an $8.1 million, 12-month add-on contract with EDS to make technical enhancements to several health information management systems.

The work is aimed at improving the quality and delivery of healthcare for recovering service members under the DoD Wounded Warrior care initiative.

The contract extends the 16-year relationship to manage and maintain the military's electronic health record – the largest and most comprehensive electronic health record in the world, according to the DoD.

"Enhancing the accessibility of deployed service members' medical data is critical for ensuring healthcare providers have instant access to their patients' most vital medical records," said Dennis Stolkey, senior vice president of the U.S. Public Sector at EDS, an HP company. "EDS takes great pride in providing the Defense Department's Military Health System with state-of-the-art health services for U.S. soldiers and their families."

EDS will provide applications development to the Disability Evaluation System and the Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application, the military's electronic health record.

Technical enhancements to DHIMS applications are expected to improve the management of the military's electronic health records, increase collaboration across service lines and facilitate user workflow between caregivers and case managers.

Enhancements to Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application will improve information sharing between the DoD and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. They also will enable clinical case managers to have better access to data about beneficiaries' conditions, prescriptions, diagnostic tests and additional information essential to improving care quality.

Enhancements to the Disability Evaluation System will help maximize medical assessment efficiencies and streamline the evaluation process for disability treatment and case management of injured or ill U.S. soldiers.

The Military Health System is the largest health maintenance organization in the world, composed of a vast team of healthcare providers, medical educators and medical researchers serving at health facilities and in the field worldwide. More than 60,000 trained users operate DHIMS applications to capture, manage and share data across the DoD.