Adirim Terry, Madsen Cathaleen
Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
Mil Med. 2025 Jun 30;190(7-8):199-202. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usae428.
The Military Health System (MHS) has historically been at the forefront of innovation in medicine and science, but it has also historically struggled to implement battlefield innovations or civilian technologies for wider domestic use. Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in health care with civilian health systems and institutions at the forefront of these innovations. While these tools have the potential to support resolution of military health's most pressing issues, the MHS is behind its civilian counterparts in advancing AI. Adoption of AI could benefit the MHS in such areas as service member and beneficiary access to care; more precise allocation of medical personnel and resources; improved operations of military treatment facilities; early detection of emerging threats to health; and force multiplication of existing telehealth capabilities. This evolving and highly visible technology also presents challenges in the military context above those in the civilian context, such as additional levels of privacy and security, integration with purpose-built secure systems, and additional regulatory obligations. To address these, the MHS should engage in three lines of effort to advance AI: establishing governance, education and training of medical personnel, and engaging in research, development, testing, and piloting of AI applications. This will require dedicated personnel and resources for a substantial initial outlay to be recouped later through more effective administration and care. By leveraging lessons learned from civilian systems, the MHS can design, adopt, and implement AI solutions to improve care for service members in both domestic and operational contexts, and for their beneficiaries.
军事卫生系统（MHS）在历史上一直处于医学和科学创新的前沿，但在将战场创新或民用技术推广到更广泛的国内应用方面也一直面临困难。人工智能（AI）已成为医疗保健领域的变革力量，民用卫生系统和机构处于这些创新的前沿。虽然这些工具有可能帮助解决军事卫生领域最紧迫的问题，但MHS在推进人工智能方面落后于民用同行。采用人工智能可以在以下方面使MHS受益：让军人及其家属获得医疗服务；更精确地分配医务人员和资源；改善军事治疗设施的运作；尽早发现新出现的健康威胁；以及增强现有的远程医疗能力。这种不断发展且备受瞩目的技术在军事环境中也带来了一些民用环境中不存在的挑战，比如更高层次的隐私和安全问题、与专用安全系统的集成，以及额外的监管义务。为应对这些问题，MHS应开展三项工作来推进人工智能：建立治理机制、对医务人员进行教育和培训，以及开展人工智能应用的研究、开发、测试和试点。这将需要投入专门的人员和资源，初期会有大量支出，不过后续可通过更有效的管理和医疗服务来收回成本。通过借鉴民用系统的经验教训，MHS可以设计、采用和实施人工智能解决方案，以改善军人在国内和作战环境中的医疗服务，以及为其家属提供的医疗服务。
