Report on the Future of Military Healthcare, Focus of Defense Health Board Meeting

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The next Defense Health Board meeting will be held in Arlington, Virginia on December 11-12, 2007. The focus of the meeting will be the independent assessments and recommendations to Congress and the Secretary of Defense by the Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care regarding methods for sustaining the military health care services provided to members of the Armed Forces, retirees, and their families, to ensure the availability and affordability of military medicine over the long term. The Board will deliberate the elements of Task Force's draft report to the Secretary of Defense in open session. Details on the meeting can be found at: http://www.ha.osd.mil/dhb.

In addition to the report from the Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care, the Defense Health Board will receive an update on the Department's efforts to reengineer the Disability Evaluation Program, and reports on the Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury programs. The Board will also deliberate recommendations regarding Emergency Blood Transfusion Safety and discuss the development of the Department's convalescent plasma treatment guidelines. Pandemic influenza preparedness and Chlamydia infection control will also be discussed.

The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Crystal City, 1800 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202.

Information on the Task Force is available at http://www.dodfuturehealthcare.net/.

The 14-member Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care has devoted a year to an independent, comprehensive study of assessing and recommending methods for sustaining health care delivery to military service members, their families and military retiree for the long term. Task Force members, appointed by the Secretary of Defense, represent experts from both the military and the private sector. The Task Force was officially established by the Fiscal year 2007 National Defense Authorization Act.

SOURCE Defense Health Board