Advancing digital health: Navy Medicine’s Health 1nformaticist of the Month helps shape operational medicine
From shipboard data platforms to tactical field networks, Lt. Cmdr. Harley T. Sheffield is transforming how the Navy and Marine Corps deliver digital health care at the tip of the spear. For his efforts, Sheffield was named Navy Medicine's Health Informaticist of the Month for September.
As the chief nursing informatics officer for Naval Medical Forces Pacific, Sheffield spent the last year translating frontline clinical realities into critical technical requirements. His mission is advancing and evaluating digital health capabilities across Navy and Marine Corps operational environments.
As a Navy nurse informaticist, Sheffield knows firsthand what it is like to provide patient care on the front lines, a clinical background that directly influences how he evaluates new technology in the field.
“I don’t just ask whether the software works,” Sheffield said. “I look at it through the lens of the functional user. I ask whether it will work for an operational user with minimal resources, limited communications, and in environments ranging from the middle of the ocean to the desert. Ultimately, I ask whether this is a tool I can realistically use to deliver and document care in a way that benefits the operational commander, the unit, the provider, and most importantly, the patient.”
Throughout 2026, he led and supported health informatics efforts aboard USSEssex(LHD-2) and during the Marine Corps Integrated Training Exercise (ITX) at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), Twentynine Palms, California, ensuring emerging technologies were assessed not only for technical performance, but also for their ability to safely, effectively, and reliably support the warfighter.
"Lt. Sheffield combines a high degree of informatics knowledge with a willingness to work hard and take ownership of problems," said Capt. Christopher Phillips, chief medical officer for NMFP. "He is a respected resource within the informatics community because of his dedication and ability to work with others on the team as they work to make our operational electronic health record as safe, effective, and user-friendly as possible."
Sheffield’s impact to the fleet was demonstrated during the USSEssexOperational Medicine Clinical Data Platform (OPMED CDP) evaluation. Serving as the action officer, Sheffield was responsible for coordinating multiple supporting units and personnel to complete system installation and operational implementation in a shipboard environment. He coordinated cross-functional teams for system installation and validation, user training, clinical workflow evaluation, data quality review, and assessment of more than 100 historical and newly identified system issues. His hands-on leadership led to the successful testing of data seeding while underway, demonstrating the platform’s ability to support operationally relevant deployment conditions and informing evaluation of system reliability, usability, and readiness. His findings directly informed the operational go/no-go decision and produced actionable recommendations to improve patient safety, data fidelity, and overall system readiness prior to broader fleet deployment.
Sheffield also supported the Theater Blood (TBLD) operational experiment conducted duringthe RIMPAC 2026aboard the USSEssexand across multiple units while underway, coordinating efforts among operational units, clinical subject matter experts, blood program personnel, and technical teams to evaluate digital blood management capabilities in a realistic maritime operational environment. This distributed assessment identified more than 50 findings related to blood product accountability, donor management, traceability, auditability, data accuracy, and command visibility. His contributions provided critical operational insights that will shape future distributed maritime operations and expeditionary medical readiness.
From the sea to the Twentynine Palms, California desert, Sheffield’s work continued to impact warfighter readiness. Sheffield served as an evaluation lead during the Marine Corps Integrated Training Exercise (ITX) Operational Medicine Pilot at MCAGCC, where the Battlefield Assisted Trauma Distributed Observation Kit-Joint (BATDOK-J), Operational Medicine Care Delivery Platform (OPMED CDP), OPMED CDP Web, Medical Hub, and MHS GENESIS were assessed across realistic Marine Corps medical workflows.
The pilot tracked digital documentation under operationally relevant conditions from the point of injury through Role 1 and Role 2 care and into enterprise systems. A key achievement of the exercise was production testing with live patient records on the Marine Corps Enterprise Tactical Network in a field setting. Sheffield helped test and train more than 50 personnel, supported execution of multiple operational mission threads, and enabled controlled production encounters that demonstrated both the promise of an integrated digital health ecosystem and the operational gaps requiring continued improvement.
When considering what these technological innovations actually mean for an 18-year-old corpsman in a field operation or the patient being treated, Sheffield emphasizes practical support over complexity.
"The technology is not here to change operational medicine," Sheffield said. "Instead, it is a tool to enhance the care and decision-making of the corpsman already doing the job. Quick-reference information, timestamps, and visibility across the continuum can help a corpsman identify potential gaps in care, reassess what has already been done, and recognize when additional support may be needed."
When the tactical situation allows, electronic documentation can follow the patient from the earliest stages of care through definitive treatment, while also giving commanders command-and-control visibility to identify urgent needs like medical assistance, evacuation, or resupply.
"Ultimately, all of this benefits the patient by reducing potential gaps in care, improving continuity, and ensuring that care delivered in the operational environment becomes part of the patient’s longitudinal health record," he said.
Across these diverse environments, Sheffield has bridged the gap between technology and the warfighter by translating frontline clinical experience into clear technical and operational requirements. His work reflects the essential role of health informatics in ensuring digital health capabilities are not merely fielded, but are safe, usable, interoperable, and operationally relevant to the Sailors and Marines who depend on them. His work had advanced operational medicine modernization, earning him the Health Informaticist of the Month for the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) health informatics directorate.
NMFP provides oversight for 10 Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Commands (NMRTC) on the West Coast and Pacific Rim that train, man and equip medical forces, primarily in military treatment facilities. Globally, NMFP oversees eight research laboratories that deliver research expertise in support of warfighter health and readiness. Additionally, NMFP manages the Naval Expeditionary Medicine Warfighter Development Center (NEMWDC), which plays a critical role in preparing medical teams for expeditionary and operational environments.
Navy Medicine, with more than 44,000 military and civilian health care professionals, provides expeditionary medical support to the warfighter.
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