TRICARE Leader Explains Plans for the Future

January 28, 2010 - To balance increasingly complex responsibilities at home and overseas the Military Health System has adopted the Quadruple Aim model of care, Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, deputy director of the TRICARE Management Activity, told a standing-room only crowd of military medical leaders Thursday. The Quadruple Aim, she explained, supports readiness, population health, a positive patient experience and responsible management of health care costs.

During the 2010 Military Health System (MHS) conference, key speakers described the scope and complexity of military medical operations and the TRICARE program. The MHS is becoming increasingly complex, Hunter said, and must create a learning culture to develop the next generation of leaders ready to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. MHS leaders, she said, are adopting a learning culture to share knowledge.

The MHS is responsible for the care of 9.6 million people. In a single week, 1.6 million outpatients are seen, 2.48 million prescriptions are filled and 3.5 million claims are paid. Hunter congratulated all of the providers who’ve supported the ongoing relief efforts in Haiti while they handled TRICARE’s regular workload.

“Active, reserve, civilian and network partners came together immediately in an inspiring demonstration of teamwork,” Hunter said of the effort.

Hunter discussed the Quadruple Aim, which she began implementing in July 2009 soon after her arrival at TMA, explaining how it is designed to help achieve near-term goals and guide long-range planning.

“The MHS has been successful in achieving three parts of the quadruple aim – readiness, population health and cost management,” Hunter said.

Ending her speech, Hunter impressed upon the more than 3,000 MHS professionals in attendance the importance of their jobs, and urged them to continue the great work they do. She closed by emphasizing how attendees can help achieve MHS goals by promoting individual and family readiness, a healthy population, positive patient experiences and responsible management of health care costs.

“You personally can help us achieve the Quadruple Aim,” Hunter said “by ensuring that patients with an acute minor condition contact their primary care manager or visit an urgent care center rather than the emergency room, transfer brand name prescriptions from retail pharmacy to home delivery and that patients get the right information the next time they interact with us.”