The next generation of AHLTA, the military’s EHR, will soon be able to integrate an electronic dental charting capability to assist military healthcare providers. For the first time in the Military Health System, dental providers will have electronic dental charting tools complimented by point-of-care access to complete medical records, test results, and images. Fielding the integrated medical and dental EHR represents a major milestone in healthcare information sharing.
Use of the integrated record in dental care will support the early identification and documentation of oral symptoms which may indicate the presence of systemic health conditions. Through AHLTA, dental providers can document a patient’s screening results in the integrated record and make that information accessible to the patient’s primary care provider and even arrange a medical consultation when necessary.
The integrated system is the result of six years of a collaborative system design effort led by the Clinical Information Technology Program Office. Colonel Page McNall, DDS, CITPO’s AHLTA Dental Product Line Manager, reported that the final product fulfilled all of the requirements of the dental commands.
