AFIA hosts medical conference

  • Published
  • By Sheila Rupp
  • Nucleus Journalist
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico --  The Air Force Inspection Agency is sponsoring an international accreditation conference for Air Force medics March 12-14 here. The purpose of this conference is to review military and national medical standards, and brief trends and findings in order to improve medical care throughout the Air Force. This is the first time the annual conference will be sponsored by the AFIA Medical Operations Directorate.

"Our charter at AFIA is to assess the ability of Air Force medical units to fulfill their in-garrison and expeditionary missions," said Col. Gary Forthman, AFIA director of medical operations. "Due to the experience levels of our inspectors and our global view from the assessments we've done worldwide, the Health Services Inspection Team has a lot to offer Military Treatment Facilities as they work to meet the challenges of medical care within the DOD. This is a perfect venue for a productive interaction with Air Force medical leaders from around the world."

This is also the first time AFIA is partnering with the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care to share information about accreditation standards. AFIA medical specialists will brief the first two days of the three-day conference and AAAHC members will brief on the third day.

Representatives from Air Force installations worldwide - more than 74 facilities - will be in attendance, said Col. Ronald Nelson, chief, Active Duty Division at AFIA. "We're here to help improve the quality of health care throughout the Air Force," he said.

There will be discussions and panels about patient safety, tips for success and other important issues for the medical community.

AFIA medical inspector Lt. Col. Linda Bonnel said information about findings and trends about the previous year, and information on ways to improve programs to keep discrepancies from happening in the future, will be shared.

Every medical facility that decides to be accredited, whether military or civilian, must go through accreditation inspections every few years. Colonel Nelson said that although the conference will prepare individuals for the accreditation process, the conference is not designed to teach people how to pass the test, but rather to show personnel how to improve programs.