46 JULY-AUGUST 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE MED Provider Portal Modernizing the Foreign Service Health Care Experience Alice Abrams is a board-certified family nurse practitioner with nearly 30 years of experience in primary and women’s health care who joined the Department of State as a medical provider in 2016. She has served in Malaysia, Zambia, Pakistan, and many other locations as a medical provider rover. She is currently based in Lisbon. The Department of State’s progress toward an electronic health record system can improve health care outcomes for Foreign Service members worldwide. BY ALICE ABRAMS T he Bureau of Medical Services (MED) provides expert medical care, advice, and support for U.S. government employees and their family members at almost every U.S. overseas post around the world. For the hundreds of medical providers and the tens of thousands of patients they serve, the MED Provider Portal (MPP) is a game changer. This proprietary, secure, and private electronic platform allows MED’s team to maintain patient records electronically, marking a crucial first step toward a full electronic health record for the U.S. foreign affairs community. Consider, for example, arriving at a post for a temporary assignment and realizing you forgot your new medication. The name escapes you. Your Health Unit provider at the temporary location can now use the MPP to see the details of your treatment plan and ensure you continue your care safely. Imagine you’re a medical provider, arranging a medical evacuation for an acutely ill patient, alone in an austere location. Before the MPP, clinical findings were scanned and sent—often faxed—to medevac centers for review with critical data spread
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODIyMDU=