The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Department of Defense, Military Health System (all military medical and dental treatment facilities)
- Level
- Federal
- Authority
- 10 U.S.C. 1073; DoDD 5136.01
- Issued
- 2020-03-24 Mar. 24, 2020
- Effective
- 2020-03-31
- End
- 60 days (to May 30, 2020); superseded by the May 21, 2020 resumption memorandum (Ex. 045) (read as 2020-05-30)
- In force
- Mar. 31, 2020 to May 30, 2020
- Quarters
- 2020 Q2
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Business closureHealth care orders
- Addressees
- MTF and DTF Commanders and Directors
- Director, Defense Health Agency
- Surgeons General
- Functions reached
- SX surgery and elective procedures
- PR dental and aerosol-generating procedures
- CB TRICARE network and purchased-care referrals (patients not treated in MTFs)
- SC PPE conservation
- Collection
- Defense installations and the National Guard AGY-DEFENSE-GUARD
Operative words
Facility (DTF) Commanders and Directors to immediately postpone all elective surgeries, invasive procedures, and dental procedures performed on beneficiaries of the MTFs and DTFs with the exceptions outlined below. This includes aerosol-producing procedures, such as endoscopies, bronchoscopies, pulmonary function tests, and sleep continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) titrations. This policy is effective March 31, 2020, and will remain in place for 60 days.
Enforcement
Directive to commanders; exceptions only for deployability and readiness of Service members or where the risk of delay outweighs safety and logistics
Notes
Reaches dental practices, ambulatory surgery centers, laboratories and device and supply vendors serving 9.6 million TRICARE beneficiaries through the direct-care system; the memorandum recites conservation of 'bed space, personal protective equipment, supplies, and medical personnel'.