The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has outlined plans for a medical messaging capability to support personnel working remotely.
Its Strategic Command division is currently running trials with the aim of making it available for about 2,000 users by April of next year, and has now begun to look for support in a two-year programme to develop its capabilities.
The market notice says that military medics and clinicians under deployment have difficulties obtaining clinical advice due to limited options for text and data messaging over secure systems.
It subsequently wants to develop a scalable medical messaging tool for personnel to obtain support via text with supporting imagery, on users’ own devices and authorised mobile and desktop devices, through both military communication networks and civilian equivalents.
“The solution will enable access to the skills and experience of MOD medical experts to provide speciality care advice when distance, time and operational requirements make access via usual methods impractical,” the notice says.
Among the expected benefits are to avoid unnecessary medical evacuations of military personnel, reduce the risk when it is necessary, and to make expert advice available on different types of medical emergency.
Image from US Army Europe, public domain
