The Coast Guard Electronic Health Record Acquisition (eHRa) Program has made substantial progress in modernizing the service’s health record system through strategic partnerships and phased implementation of the Military Health System (MHS) GENESIS electronic health record (EHR) platform. This initiative, launched in collaboration with the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Defense Health Agency (DHA) in 2018, transitioned the service from paper-based records to an integrated digital system and improved the interoperability with federal health networks and private providers.
The Coast Guard’s EHR modernization mission began with a 2018 inter-agency agreement formalizing its partnership with the DHA to adopt MHS GENESIS, which is the same system used by the DOD and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This collaboration aimed to replace the Coast Guard’s legacy paper-based system with an EHR capable of increasing operational readiness, improving patient safety, reducing administrative errors, accelerating record retrieval and enabling seamless data exchange with federal and civilian health networks.
In September 2019, the Coast Guard took a significant step toward modernizing its healthcare system by deploying the MHS GENESIS system to four pilot sites in the Pacific area. This initiative, part of a task order awarded by DHA to the Leidos Partnership for Defense Health, marked the beginning of the Coast Guard’s service-wide adoption of an integrated EHR system. This initial deployment focused on Training Center Petaluma, Base Alameda, Air Station Sacramento and Maritime Safety and Security Team 91105. These pilot sites were selected for their operational diversity and alignment with the DOD’s regional MHS GENESIS deployments. By August 2020, these pilot sites successfully transitioned to the new system, validating its adaptability to Coast Guard workflows.
The eHRa Program separated the acquisition into four distinct segments: A, B, C and D.
Segment A delivered MHS GENESIS to all 110 ashore clinics and sickbays and implemented all enabling infrastructure. The deployment phase began with the four pilot sites in 2020 and concluded with deployments to Coast Guard Pacific Area and Coast Guard Atlantic Area facilities in 2021. The final site, Base Detachment Borinquen, went live on MHS GENESIS in November 2023. Along with improving patient care, safety and experience, Coast Guard-wide adoption of MHS GENESIS has enabled the Coast Guard to improve data-driven management of the service’s health and readiness, implementing advanced healthcare data practices including the DHA Health Data Intelligence platform that enhanced analytics for population health management and operational readiness.
Segment B delivered a centralized radiology and imaging system, Radiology-as-a-Service, across 29 Coast Guard clinics nationwide in September 2024. This system enhanced radiology capabilities and integrated with DHA diagnostic services as well as MHS GENESIS to deliver a streamlined and sustainable system. Segment B also includes an ongoing effort to digitize legacy paper health records to integrate with VA systems.
Segment C of eHRa Program implementation is currently underway, with the goal of extending electronic health record and operational healthcare information technology capabilities to afloat sickbays by the end of fiscal year 2027.
Segment D, introducing a fully interoperable enterprise telehealth solution, was completed in September 2023. This technology delivered expanded virtual care options and improved healthcare accessibility for military personnel away from medical facilities to enable faster access to care.
Why this program?
An EHR capability enhances patient care and the Coast Guard’s ability to anticipate the healthcare needs of its service members. Electronic health records also help the Coast Guard to meet governmental requirements and the service’s own standards for recordkeeping. Previously the Coast Guard used paper documents for its healthcare recordkeeping, which was especially challenging for service members. MHS GENESIS was the chosen program for the Coast Guard’s move to electronic health records due to numerous factors, including the EHR’s interoperability and continuity of care throughout all military branches including the VA.
With MHS GENESIS, the Coast Guard achieved: