MILITARY MEDICAL PROGRAMS HONORED
May 21, 2003

Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, announced today that the Tri-Service Infrastructure Management Program Office (TIMPO) and the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP) would receive 2003 Intergovernmental Solutions Awards, administered by the Federation of Government Information Processing Councils (FGIPC).

“We are very proud of the tremendous work that these two programs accomplish,” said Winkenwerder. “They are programs that support our overall transformation efforts by advancing our capabilities to work collaboratively with other federal agencies and by helping to retain and grow the talent of our federal workforce.”

TIMPO, which provides the military health system with computing and communications infrastructure, was selected for its Lab Interoperability Project with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA), a project that demonstrated innovative and creative strategies resulting in streamlined business practices and greatly reduced costs.

The project provides the framework for the electronic transfer of medical information between the two agencies, thereby improving healthcare for veterans, active duty military personnel, retirees and family members. This information technology solution has the capacity and features necessary to become the national solution for sharing secure encrypted data between the VA and DoD for all interagency sharing agreements.

CAP, which provides assistive technology and services to people with disabilities within the federal government, was selected for its utilization of technology to quickly and easily fill the requests for accommodations equipment. CAP previously received these requests via mail and fax and would provide needs assessments during regular business hours. With its newly designed and greatly improved Web site, persons with disabilities can now complete the CAP accommodation process online.

This online submission allows the customer to conduct his/her own needs assessment and view a wide range of assistive technology solutions. It also assists in decreasing the time it takes to receive, enter and process the request. Since its inception, CAP has filled more than 30,000 requests for accommodations for individuals with visual, hearing, dexterity and cognitive disabilities for DoD and 53 other federal agencies.

“These two programs continue to leverage advances in technology to increase their ability to better serve the military health system, the Defense Department and the federal government,” said James Reardon, chief information officer of the military health system. “We are pleased that they have been honored today.”

Members of the TIMPO program office and CAP will be recognized at the Management of Change Conference, May 19-21, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, New Orleans, La.