Specialty Care, Department of Medicine
Mission
To provide state-of-the-art cost effective patient-centered care to our beneficiaries; to ensure high quality, top decile, graduate medical education programs; and support readiness.
Organization
The department is divided into 13 independent services and an administrative section.
The Department of Medicine (DOM) provides comprehensive, high quality healthcare to adult patients in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. We are staffed with board-eligible and board-certified physicians whose medical practices include a wide range of clinical, academic, research and military training activities. This robust and balanced combination assures our beneficiaries the most comprehensive, evidenced-based care possible. Our Internal Medicine Residency Program, Hepatology Research, Diabetes Education, Preventive Cardiology, Leptospirosis Center of Excellence, Tele-Echo and Tele-Derm programs are regionally and nationally recognized.
Our imperatives for success are:
Improve access to specialty and primary care. Enhance continuum of care through partnership with Primary Care. Increase efficient and effective use of resources. Restructure health care delivery model to a patient-centered focus.
Department of Medicine Administrative Phone Number: 210-916-1404
The Dept. of Medicine provides clinical consultation for any physician, military or civilian, for any eligible beneficiary needing care in the following areas:
Types of Services Offered
Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) provides primary, secondary and tertiary care services to DoD beneficiaries. Inpatient tertiary referrals are funneled to BAMC from within and outside the region. All Department of Medicine services provide medical services for adults and geriatric patients in their respective specialty areas.
Patients are cared for in both inpatient and outpatient settings. BAMC inpatients that are the responsibility of the DOM are admitted to the medical inpatient units. Consultations are performed for adult inpatients on the BAMC units by all DOM services. Some patients receive primary or "principal" care in subspecialty clinics when a disorder of one system dominates their health care needs. Outpatient subspecialty consultation and care is provided by all DOM services at BAMC.
Patient needs are identified through periodic patient satisfaction surveys performed by the BAMC Patient Representative's Office or by individual services. Needs are also determined through consultations from other providers within the hospital and region. For patients who do not wish to use (or are unable to be accommodated within) the military health care system, the TRICARE program provides a means for obtaining necessary services. If there are services that are necessary but cannot be provided at BAMC, patients are referred to other military facilities or civilian hospitals. Such outside care is paid for by TRICARE or MEDICARE for eligible individuals. Special funds are available (Supplemental Care) for active duty military personnel needing such outside care.
DOM staffing is dictated by U.S. Army Medical Command manning standards and the annual Medical and Nurse Corps Distribution Conference. Physician staffing is determined by patient care, graduate medical education and military readiness requirements. There are 103 physician staff, 122 Fellows in training and 108 residents.
The Internal Medicine Residency Program provides three years of excellent training which prepares qualified internists to serve as primary care providers and consultants in general internal medicine. The training program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education and at completion; graduates are fully prepared to sit for the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) certifying examination. Our excellence is further exemplified by a 96% 1st time ABIM board pass rate.
Residents may elect a wide range of clinical and research activities, with rotations offered in every medicine subspecialty. In each of the past three years, BAMC residents and fellows have won research competitions at local, regional and national levels. The teaching staff maintains a keen interest in clinical research with a large number of staff serving as investigators for funded research projects. All graduates are certified in the full range of procedures required of a general internist and, upon graduation, assume challenging and rewarding positions as staff internists. Our graduates are very competitive for fellowship training, as evidenced by a 90% selection rate over the past three years.