Defence Medical Services

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is one of the UK’s largest health providers delivering primary, intermediate and secondary healthcare and dental services to the armed forces. This includes occupational health and public health support for some 200,000 service personnel, 50,000 dependants and many veterans.

What was needed

The UK armed forces are known for planning, training and operational skills. To support these, the MOD needed an electronic, medical and dental health records system accessible from any military location, anywhere – including operational theatres abroad and at sea. The system would enable a two-way flow of information with the British National Health Service (NHS) and in the future, connect with our allies' systems in NATO and US.

The challenge

The new centralised system – the critical part of the Defence Medical Information Capability Programme (DMICP) – would replace legacy health records and other data held on disparate computers and on paper at up to 500 medical and dental facilities around the world ashore and afloat.

Our answer

CGI hosts the integrated health records system at our secure data-centre in Wales. EMIS PCS, an off-the-shelf product widely used within the NHS for medical records, is used and has been adapted to meet the specific requirements of the military population.

A success story

DMICP is transforming the medical and dental capabilities of the UK armed forces.

  • Data is now securely accessible in real time around the world, from medical centres at home to ships at sea and battlefields overseas
  • Personnel and their dependents get faster, more accurate treatment
  • Medical resources are being used more efficiently, with constant improvement in processes enabled
  • Senior staff have access to improved medical management information, showing, for example, which personnel are fit for deployment
  • Proper records will be passed on to the NHS for treatments or on discharge, benefiting both serving personnel and veterans
  • Latest best practices and treatments will be readily available for all patients
  • The system is fully auditable, secure and updateable.

Why work with CGI?

We’re a premier supplier to the UK Ministry of Defence and have carried out many healthcare system implementations for the NHS. Our security expertise is second to none. This project needed someone who brought together all three strengths and that’s what we did. We realised that the successful execution of DMICP wasn’t simply IT implementation but more an opportunity for change management and transformation.