PHA Overview and Challenges
Ah, the Periodic Health Assessment (PHA). It’s an annual necessity for every airman – it can take weeks for an airman on the flight line to get access to a desktop computer to access ASIMS or email in order to know when they’re due for a PHA, let alone schedule it. It’s a daily slog for the few administrators who handle the scheduling for thousands of appointments every year at each and every Air Force base, the majority of it through back-and-forth email chains or long phone calls. What if there was a simple, streamlined way of managing PHA appointments that every airman benefitted from?
Outpatient App PHA Scheduler
We worked closely with BOMC and Flight Medicine personnel to design a modern, two-part system to overhaul the PHA Scheduling process and save thousands of man hours at each base.
The first part is an improved system for airmen to request available PHA appointment times and receive confirmations all from their mobile phone. Airmen either scan a QR code or enter a base-specific URL into their web browser to bring up a PHA Request calendar for their base. The calendar shows all available times for Fly and Non-Fly PHAs that have not been scheduled or requested by other airmen and updates availability in real time. The airman clicks on their requested time slot which sends their appointment request to the Outpatient App. This simple mobile website replaces the need for airmen to leave their job function to find an accessible desktop computer. It also replaces the need for airmen to make time-consuming phone calls or email conversations with BOMC or Flight Medicine to wrangle a PHA appointment.
The other part of the PHA Scheduling system is an Administration Portal that eligible BOMC and Flight Medicine personnel use to manage PHA schedules and to communicate with Airmen and Medical Personnel. Administrators can set availability of PHA Schedules. They can block off specific time periods or certain days so that those times cannot be requested by airmen. They can confirm or reject appointment requests, automatically sending mobile notifications and email correspondence with confirmed appointment times or instructions on how to request a different day/time. They can ramp up and down PHA schedule availability based on the number of PHA providers working on any specific day. And with the Outpatient App, Administrators can do their PHA scheduling work on any device – desktop, tablet or mobile phone so that they aren’t tied to their desks constantly. The Outpatient App makes most time-consuming PHA email and phone conversations obsolete. The Outpatient App’s PHA Scheduler frees up BOMC and Flight Medicine personnel to do the rest of their many job duties.
5500
Demonstrated Man Hours Saved
In a limited, one month Beta test for non-Fly PHA scheduling at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, CA, use of the Outpatient App PHA Scheduler saved 170 man hours across airmen and administrators. That is the equivalent of 1 FTE Administrator! Based on the immediate success of the test, BOMC and Outpatient App have been given the green light to expand the PHA Scheduling program across the entirety of Travis Air Force Base. We estimate over 5500 man hours saved from Non-Fly PHA Scheduling alone over the course of 12 months.
Summary
We are very thankful to our partners at Travis Air Force Base for helping us design and build a simple, modern system that benefits all Airmen. We are excited to expand our Medical Readiness and Military Healthcare platform to include PHA Scheduling. To learn more about our entire military-grade platform, including PHA Scheduling, please visit our website at https://getoutpatient.com/military-health-automation.
