In response to these problems, DOD and the services embarked on initiatives to correct shortfalls in wartime medical capabilities and improve medical readiness. Lack of funding may also hamper implementation of MRSP. Marine Corps

In late 1993, the Marine Corps began to reassess the reconfiguration of its medical battalions, which are part of its combat units. The project is designed to identify 25-year trends and breakthroughs in both clinical and nonclinical technologies; determine how to apply these technologies across DOD health care responsibilities, which range from personal fitness to treatment of war zone casualties; and identify how the military health services system should be funded and staffed to transition to the year 2020. The MHSS 2020 project could serve as the mechanism for identifying future medical system requirements against which MRSP and the services’ reengineering programs should be focused. However, the extent to which MRSP and these reengineering programs will be compatible with future medical system requirements will not be known until the MHSS 2020 project is completed. We also recommend that the Secretary of Defense direct the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs to (1) assess the extent to which actions taken in response to MRSP have corrected medical capability problems, (2) take steps to resolve other unsettled problems, and (3) use the results of the MHSS 2020 project to guide the focus of MRSP and service reengineering initiatives.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to reassess and improve its medical capabilities, focusing on: (1) DOD implementation of its Medical Readiness Strategic Plan (MRSP); (2) the services' medical reengineering efforts; and (3) the Military Health Services System (MHSS) 2020 project to identify future wartime medical system requirements.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) DOD and the services are making progress to correct the medical capability problems that have hampered recent military operations; (2) MRSP appropriately focuses on problems that GAO and DOD have identified; (3) DOD is placing increased emphasis on implementing MRSP, after a slow start; (4) many key MRSP tasks are unfunded or partially funded; (5) the services are reconfiguring their combat hospitals into smaller components and undertaking efforts to significantly enhance their current medical system capabilities; (6) the MHSS 2020 Project has not yet identified how military health capabilities should be funded and staffed in the future; and (7) until MHSS 2020 is completed, DOD cannot determine how compatible MRSP and service reengineering programs will be with future requirements.