Unlike the other four branches of the United States Armed Forces, the Coast Guard does not have its own corps of medical officers serving as doctors, surgeons, dentists, and so on. Instead, officers from the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps are detailed to the Coast Guard—quite appropriate, as the Corps began its existence as the Marine Hospital Service established to provide medical care for merchant seamen.
But while officers from the USPHS Commissioned Corps provide the actual medical services, it’s the Coast Guard Medical Administration (MED) Warrant Officers who oversee the planning, supervision, and coordination of the administration of health-service facilities, both ashore and afloat, and all related operations. MED Warrant Officers are tasked with the acquisition, maintenance, and replacement of medical equipment and supplies; act as overseers of the physiological readiness of both Active Duty and Selected Reserve personnel; maintaining Medical Information System databases while also serving as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) local Privacy/Security Official; ensure that physical exams and health assessment meet current standards, and review and approve examinations for all Coast Guard personnel and their beneficiaries with the exception of Aviation and Diving tests.
Because many of the Coast Guard’s missions are inextricably linked to public health, Warrant Officers serving as Medical Administration specialists will serve as liaisons with local agencies on various matter related to health care; they also develop health protection preparedness plans that will be activated in the event of a disaster or influenza pandemic. Their administrative functions include oversight of nonfederal contracts, health care, and blanket purchase agreements.
The collar device worn by Medical Administration CWOs is a winged cadeucus, identical to the device worn by Navy Hospital Corpsman Warrant Officers.
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