Electronic healthcare revolution hits the USAG-Italy community

Chelsy Lyons, USAG Italy Public Affairs

VICENZA, Italy — A healthcare revolution is coming to USAG-Italy this fall as the Army prepares to implement MHS GENESIS as the new and improved electronic healthcare system. Going into effect on September 23, the switch will impact both the Army Health Clinic, Dental Clinic, and Aid Station on Vicenza and Del Din after already being used throughout the military stateside.

“It is a heroic undertaking,” said Lt. Col. Michele Kehrle, Commander of the Army Health Clinic-Vicenza. “It is essentially going from a rotary phone to a smart phone overnight.”

MHS GENESIS is a streamlined healthcare portal that has consolidated the records of all prior military legacy systems into one, easy-to-use platform. Replacing the TRICARE Online Patient Portal, all TRICARE beneficiaries will be able to access their health records in one place, eliminating the need to transfer records when changing duty stations.

According to Kehrle, the change will be a net positive to the community but will not be without some growing pains. As the system transitions to MHS GENESIS, Kehrle expects temporary but significant limitations in healthcare access and longer than usual wait times.
Community members are encouraged to make their routine appointments and medication refill requests prior to September 22.

To mitigate inconveniences, the clinic has implemented 90-day refills on medications, established an MHS GENESIS help desk available on Wednesdays, and is taking medical readiness walk-in appointments on Monday afternoons and Wednesday mornings.

While MHS GENESIS is new to the Vicenza community, the change is over a decade in the making. DoD plans for a medical system overhaul began in 2009. The roll out to Military communities began in the Pacific Northwest region in 2017 and the change will continue this fall with other European and Indo-Pacific locations.

“It’s an exciting time, it is going to be a challenging time, and we’re really excited to partner with the community through this monumental change for the better of us all,” Kehrle said.

To learn more about MHS GENESIS go to https://health.mil/News/In-the-Spotlight/MHS-GENESIS.