Newswise — Bethesda, Md. - Tens of thousands of lives nationwide could be saved each year, and trauma-related deaths and disability could be reduced worldwide if the U.S. health care system embraces the military’s lessons learned in trauma care, according to a report published Oct. 19 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
In their article, “Wartime Lessons – Shaping a National Trauma Action Plan,” Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Todd E. Rasmussen, professor of surgery at USU and Dr. Arthur L. Kellermann, dean of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences’ (USU) F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine and, professor of surgery at USU, explain how lessons learned in combat and through military health research are advancing civilian trauma care. Because the military needed an efficient way to compile data on the timing and causes of death in combat during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it developed the Joint Trauma System (JTS) in 2004. Together the Army, Navy and Air Force created a trauma registry to collect data and help shape clinical practice guidelines, the authors report. Data from the JTS demonstrated that the use of new knowledge and products, such as tourniquets and hemostatic gauzes, combined with consistent training, significantly reduced – and in some cases eliminated – the number of preventable deaths on the battlefield. The JTS data also allowed military leaders to identify pressing needs and, in turn, make requests to the research community, while funding proposals that have been most likely to create relatively quick solutions. These advancements led to the development of innovative devices and technologies, and through data-driven decision making, the JTS fostered a “learning health system” in the military, dedicated to improving care.
“This progress was driven by the overarching goal of minimizing and ultimately eliminating preventable deaths after injury,” the authors noted.
In a June 2016 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine the academies called for a National Trauma Research Action Plan modeled on the military’s experience and aimed at eliminating preventable deaths and disability caused by accidents, intentional acts of violence, and natural disasters. Their report suggests the military has created a template that could be applied to focus national funding for trauma research in the future.
“The academies’ report draws from the lessons learned from the military’s experience, and proposes a bold and timely strategy for the U.S. as we grapple with the damaging effects of trauma and injury in our country and around the world,” Kellermann said. “These recommendations are intended to build on advances achieved by the military health system over the last 14 years and, by doing so, to drive the number of preventable deaths after injury down to zero.”
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About the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences:The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), founded by an act of Congress in 1972, is the academic heart of the Military Health System. USU students are primarily active duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service who receive specialized education in tropical and infectious diseases, TBI and PTSD, disaster response and humanitarian assistance, global health, and acute trauma care. A large percentage of the university’s more than 5,300 physician and 800 advanced practice nursing alumni are supporting operations around the world, offering their leadership and expertise. USU also has graduate programs in biomedical sciences and public health committed to excellence in research, and in oral biology. The University's research program covers a wide range of clinical and basic science important to both the military and public health. For more information, visit www.usuhs.edu.
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