The recent web outage across Asia and the Middle East failed to stifle Military medical missions in Southwest Asia, where hundreds of combat support hospitals and battalion aid stations were already equipped with offline-ready medical recording systems. The need for continued use of the Armys Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care (MC4) systems – a system by which doctors and nurses record and track patient care – was reinforced this week when two cables that carry Internet traffic beneath the Mediterranean Sea snapped. Deployed medical units in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan lost Internet coverage, but continued using MC4 during the outage to maintain continuity of care without the loss of medical records in the process.

“This incident reinforces why military medical units need to rely on flexible systems such as MC4 while in the combat zone,” said LTC Edward Clayson, MC4 Commander and Product Manager. “By not relying on web-based applications to document patient care, Service members treatment information remains intact. When patients come home to receive additional care, they wont have a gap in their medical history just because of this Internet outage.”

The militarys MC4 system has been deployed since 2003, providing all deployed medical treatment facilities with the means to document patient care, track patients, survey medical situations and automate medical logistics on the battlefield. The systems, specifically designed for low-communications/no-communications environments, provide units with a standardized, digital way to record all treatments provided to casualties throughout the war zone. When communications is secured or restored, patient data travels to a worldwide, centralized database whereby providers and commanders can use the information to continue care and analyze trends. The effort is part of the continued commitment the military holds to ensuring every Service member has a complete, lifelong electronic medical record.

In October 2007, MC4 completed the largest fielding and training effort to date by equipping the Air Force Theater Hospital in Balad, Iraq, with more than 200 handhelds, laptops, servers and printers. The effort marked the completion of equipping all level three medical treatment facilities in Southwest Asia with MC4 systems. The Army will equip at least a dozen more Air Force hospitals in the combat zone in the spring of 2008.

Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care (MC4) integrates, fields and supports a medical information management system for Army tactical medical forces, enabling a comprehensive, lifelong electronic medical record for all Service members, and enhancing medical situational awareness for operational commanders. Headquartered at Fort Detrick, Md., MC4 is under the oversight of the Army Program Executive Office, Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS) at Fort Belvoir, Va.

For more information on MC4, visit www.mc4.army.mil.