COL Richard W. Danielson Ph.D.
Madigan Army Medical Center
Tacoma WA, 98234
A review of the status of actions taken and strategies for future development of the Army Medical Department's cooperative work in a complex hearing aid program with the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) in the past two years. AMEDD facilities (who order approximately 2,000 hearing aids per year) can now link with the DVA for volume buying, gain access to electronic hearing aid orders and patient registries, and provide batteries to soldiers in remote locations. These capabilities offer significant advantages through reduced cost savings and improved patient services, but DOD Audiology Clinic managers still report limited utilization of hearing aid programs shared with the DVA. This presentation will consolidate short-term wins experienced by users of this program, offer recommendations to resolve issues that have challenged implementation and discuss new approaches in the culture of DVA/military sharing.