Defense Health Agency CIO: grappling with similar challenges, but extra complexity

Pat Flanders, CIO of the Defense Health Agency (DHA), spoke at HIMSS19 about the challenges of standardizing, modernizing, and securing the DHA’s complex infrastructure. With over 19,721 inpatient admissions weekly, Flanders emphasized the importance of interoperability, cybersecurity, and budget management in their efforts to improve healthcare delivery. The DHA is working on projects like Desktop to Datacenter (D2D) to streamline infrastructure services and ensure the right information is accessible to the right people at the right time. They are also focused on connecting with the commercial healthcare system and addressing the unique characteristics of the military culture and workforce.