R 211700Z APR 25 MID120001886380U
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 191/25
SSIC 6000
SUBJ: DIGITIZATION AND LONG‐TERM STORAGE OF PAPER HEALTH RECORDS
UPDATE
A. Paper Health Records Data Digitization Procedural Guidance,
EHRAPMO‐PG‐23‐002
1. This ALCOAST is to inform service members and healthcare staff of
efforts to digitize legacy paper health records, clarifies the
process for personnel to obtain copies of health records, and
provides guidance to servicing Coast Guard clinics. This information
is provided to increase awareness and assist communication between
patients and healthcare staff to best support our service members.
2. STATUS OF THE PAPER HEALTH RECORD DIGITIZATION PROCESS: The
effort to digitize paper health records began in November 2022 when
over 45,000 paper health records were retrieved from clinics, sick
bays, and Unit Record Custodians. The records are being digitized
and uploaded into the Department of Defense Health Artifact and
Image Solution (HAIMS) application which makes the records viewable
in MHS GENESIS and accessible by the Department of Veterans Affairs
for benefits delivery. In 2024, improved quality controls were
implemented to address issues and streamline further digitization.
As of February 2025, 40% of all paper health records have been
digitized. The remaining paper health records are being processed
for digitization, with efforts targeted to conclude before Q3 FY27.
3. AVAILABILITY OF HEALTH RECORDS FOR DELIVERY OF CARE: IAW REF (A),
Electronic Health Records Acquisition (CG‐9333) Program Management
Office, with the assistance of the Health, Safety and Work‐Life
Service Center (HSWL SC), established a HIPAA‐compliant process
which enables viewing and availability of complete patient health
records in order to deliver care throughout the digitization
process. Provider access to patient health records is not impacted.
The guidance for providers can be found on the following website:
(Copy and Paste URL Below into Browser)
https://uscg.sharepoint‐mil.us/:b:/r/sites/cg9/3/3/eHRa/SiteAssets/
SitePages/HomePage/Procedural‐Guidance‐Paper‐Health‐Record‐v2.0.
pdf?csf=1&web=1&e=vQMum1
4. PATIENT‐INITIATED REQUESTS FOR HEALTH RECORDS:
a. Patients: Any patient in need of a copy of their paper health
record should initiate the process by submitting a request to their
servicing Coast Guard clinic. For prioritization status update and
questions after confirming their servicing clinic forwarded that
request to the digitization team, patients can email the paper
records digitization team at SMB‐COMDT‐HealthRecords@uscg.mil.
Please note that all medical information created on MHS GENESIS
after the CG‐wide deployment of MHS GENESIS is already available
for member viewing via MHS Genesis Patient Portal.
b. Clinics: Clinics receiving and prioritizing requests from
patients shall first check the Joint Longitudinal Viewer (JLV) to
determine if the health record has already been digitized prior to
submitting prioritized requests for digitization. If the complete
record is already available in JLV then the clinic shall follow
guidance Record Request Job Aid, v2.0 to deliver a copy to the
patient. If the complete health record is not in JLV, the clinic
shall submit a records request to smb‐comdt‐ehra‐logistics@uscg.mil
containing patient name, DOD ID, and expected separation date; if
applicable. After receiving the request from the clinic, the records
digitization team will prioritize the request to review and prepare
the record including a page‐by‐page review to protect patient
privacy and comply with applicable federal law. Following this
review the digitized record will be viewable in MHS GENESIS through
the JLV application. If clinic personnel discover errors in the
digitized record the following steps must be taken:
(1) Clinic point of contact sends email to:
smb‐comdt‐ehra‐logistics@uscg.mil; email will include the patients
name, DOD ID, error explanation (example, "different patient's
immunization record") and on which page/section of the digitized
record. COMDT (CG‐9333) will take for action, upload a new and
correct copy, update the clinic's master file and send confirmation
to the clinic POC.
(2) The clinic will securely transmit the digitized record to
the patient via DoD SAFE. This is the only approved method of
transmission. Additional information on the use of DoD SAFE can be
sourced here:
(Copy and Paste URL below into browser)
https://cnrj.cnic.navy.mil/Portals/80/telework‐info/SAFE%20FAQs.PDF
c. Timeframes and priorities: Timeframes previously identified in
REF (A) for digitizing records in response to member requests are
now superseded by the revised priority groupings defined in this
message. To ensure timely delivery of record copies, patients should
contact their servicing Coast Guard clinic as soon as a need is
identified. For prioritization status update and questions, members
can email the paper records prioritization team at
SMB‐COMDT‐HealthRecords@uscg.mil after confirming their servicing
clinic submitted a priority request after confirming their servicing
clinic submitted a priority request.
5. PRIORITIZATION OF REQUESTS FOR COPIES OF HEALTH RECORDS: Due to
the increased number of patient requests for copies of paper health
records, a prioritization process has been implemented to deliver
the most urgent records first and comply with REF (A). All initial
requests for records, including members in geographically remote
units who do not receive their care at a Coast Guard clinic (often
referred to as the white space), must be submitted through the
member's servicing Coast Guard clinic. The Coast Guard clinic shall
apply a priority level based on the following criteria when sending
a records request to the digitization team:
a. PRIORITY 1: Records for separated or retired members from the
Coast Guard needed for Veterans Affairs (VA) claims.
b. PRIORITY 2: Records for members expected to separate from the
Coast Guard within 180 days.
c. PRIORITY 3: Records for members requesting access to their
health information, who are not within 180 days of separating from
the Coast Guard, e.g. copy requests.
6. POC for eHRa: smb‐comdt‐ehra‐logistics@uscg.mil
7. RADM P. JUNG, Assistant Commandant for Health, Safety and
Work‐Life (CG‐1K), sends.
8. Internet release is authorized.