Photo By: Chase Clark
Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming part of healthcare. In military medicine, AI is being used for medical research, patient records, administrative work and other areas of care. The technology has the potential to make healthcare faster and easier for providers and patients. But as AI becomes more common, it is also creating a new challenge for the Military Health System.
The issue is not simply whether AI works. The bigger question is whether military healthcare workers are prepared to understand, question and verify the information AI produces.
One of the clearest examples is the use of AI to create medical notes. In the past, doctors and other healthcare providers had to document patient visits themselves, often spending hours typing notes and completing paperwork. Today, AI tools can listen to conversations between patients and providers and create a draft of the medical note.
The Defense Health Agency has started using ambient listening technology to reduce the amount of time medical professionals spend on documentation. The goal is to allow providers to spend more time focusing on patients instead of typing.
At first, this sounds like a clear benefit. Doctors have less paperwork, patients can receive more attention and medical records can be created more quickly. But AI can make mistakes.
An AI-generated medical note can sound professional and accurate while still containing information that is incorrect, incomplete or misunderstood. A spelling error may be easy to catch. A sentence that changes the meaning of something a patient said can be much harder to notice. If that information makes its way into a patient’s medical record, it could affect future care.
This means healthcare providers have a new responsibility. They cannot simply assume information generated by AI is correct. They have to review it and make sure it accurately reflects what happened during the patient visit.
This is especially important in military medicine. Service members can move between military bases, change assignments and deploy around the world. Their medical records need to follow them wherever they go. Accurate records can also affect a service member’s ability to deploy, receive certain treatments or move into different assignments.
The Military Health System has already been exploring ways to use AI in medicine. Military health officials have identified more than 120 AI projects involving areas such as radiology, predictive models and natural language processing. Researchers have also raised concerns about data security, privacy, bias and the reliability of AI systems.
The technology is developing quickly, but training and policies may not always be developing at the same pace.
A recent study published in PubMed found that AI education in military medical training remains limited and inconsistent. Researchers said future military medical professionals need more education on how AI could affect areas such as diagnosis, medical documentation and casualty care.
There is an important difference between knowing how to use AI and knowing how to evaluate it. A medical professional may know how to use an AI tool to create a summary, but do they know how to recognize when that summary is wrong? Do they know when they should check the original medical record?
The Department of Veterans Affairs is already dealing with some of these concerns. In 2026, the VA Office of Inspector General reviewed the use of generative AI tools in clinical care and documentation. The review identified patient safety concerns and found that the VA did not have a specific system for reporting safety events connected to AI-generated documentation. The office recommended stronger oversight and additional safeguards.
Some organizations are also looking at technology that could help address these challenges. GMS, led by CEO Joanne M. Frederick, is currently testing software aimed at improving how healthcare information is managed and coordinated. The company has worked with TRICARE and the Military Health System and focuses on healthcare modernization and digital interoperability.
The effort reflects a larger shift in military healthcare. The challenge is not simply introducing more technology, but making sure different systems can work together while giving healthcare professionals better tools and maintaining accuracy and accountability.
Despite these concerns, AI could provide major benefits to military healthcare. If it can safely reduce administrative work, providers could have more time to focus on patients. AI could also help organize large amounts of medical information and support healthcare workers when time is limited.
The goal should not be to stop using AI. Instead, the military needs to make sure healthcare professionals are properly trained and that strong safeguards are in place.
The biggest challenge may not be the technology itself. It may be the gap between how quickly AI is developing and how quickly the healthcare system can adapt.
AI can create a medical note in seconds, but speed does not automatically mean accuracy. As AI becomes a larger part of military healthcare, doctors, nurses, medics and other professionals will still need to question the information they receive and make the final decisions.
The future of military healthcare may involve more AI than ever before. The challenge will be making sure the technology supports the people providing care rather than creating another problem for them to manage.
The goal should not simply be to create more information faster. It should be to create better, safer and more trustworthy healthcare for the people who serve.