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Fairchild implements automated quarters system

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Sam Fogleman
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Commanders and Unit Health Monitors will now have a more efficient way of being notified that a member of their team has been placed on quarters. Quarters will automatically be signified without detailing patient privacy information, such as diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. Any Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-protected information will not be disclosed to anyone beyond the necessary personnel.

"The automated quarters system ensures that the provider and his or her assistant do not spend an undue amount of time making the notification," said Col. Robin Schultze, 92nd Medical Group commander. "In the past, when we were required to place a phone call, the assistant or the provider might be on the phone for upwards of an hour trying to make the notification. Now, the provider enters the information into the system and an automatic e-mail is generated."

The new automated quarters program, implemented at Fairchild Aug. 19, is a new module in the Aeromedical Services Information Management System. The module became available Air Force-wide in April after a test run in 2012 at six Air Force bases, but it has not been mandated by the Pentagon.

Some of the benefits include:
1. Reduced time spent by medical staff tracking supervisors in work centers for notification.
2. Syndromic tracking is now available to Public Health in case of an outbreak.
3. Improved unit accountability; units can run a report and view who is on quarters immediately.
4. Quarters history is now available for providers.
5. Members can print out a copy of their quarters form via MyIMR(imr.afms.mil/imr/MyIMR.aspx) for up to 14 days from the date of expiration.

"Some supervisors may be worried about not getting a call from the clinic," said Tech. Sgt. Amanda Layton, 92nd Medical Group NCO in charge of Patient Administration. "However, supervisors can verify the validity of their subordinate's quarters with his or her Unit Health Monitor and he or she may also ask the subordinate to print a copy of his or her quarters from myIMR once he or she has returned to work."

Much of the effort behind the automated quarters system is to make the process less of a burden for both the patient and the provider.

"This new process is leaner and provides timely notification to the commander and the Unit Health Monitor," Schultze said.