Leidos and Aspen Medical have announced a strategic partnership to modernise and integrate digital technology into medical services for the Australian Defence Force (ADF). This collaboration aims to bid for the Australian Defence Contracted Health System program, a significant initiative to reinvigorate healthcare support for the ADF.
The Department of Defence had previously sought industry partners to deliver comprehensive health services, as outlined in a request for information published by AUSTENDER earlier this year. The goal is to establish a “contemporary, efficient, effective, and flexible approach for the delivery of health services to the ADF, and meet the anticipated growth in the ADF workforce.”
Paul Chase, Chief Executive Officer of Leidos Australia, emphasised the mission to deliver more than just healthcare. “Our goal is to build a nationwide, technology-enabled system that keeps Defence’s most important capability, its people, mission-ready at all times,” he said. The partnership with Aspen Medical is designed to provide an outcomes-focused solution that ensures a capability fit for the future force and enhances operational readiness.
Chase highlighted the priority of force readiness within the Defence sector. “In Defence, the priority is around force readiness. So there is occupational health in the traditional sense, but that added layer of force readiness. The tender is quite clear that one of the prime objectives is force readiness, to have the force ready, fit to work and to deploy.”
The collaboration aims to integrate technology, telehealth, occupational health, and medicine to reduce downtime and ensure that service personnel are fit for deployment. This integrated, mission-focused care model will include primary and specialist medical services, mental health support, and occupational rehabilitation for ADF personnel.
Aspen Medical, with over two decades of experience as a trusted provider of contracted health services to the ADF and defence forces worldwide, brings significant clinical capability and a nationwide delivery network to the partnership. Craig Fitzgerald, Group Chief Executive Officer of Aspen Medical, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration. “We’re incredibly pleased to be partnering with Leidos Australia to bid for this essential Defence service contract.”
Fitzgerald underscored the importance of sustainable and equitable healthcare delivery. “One of the key pillars of the tender is the healthcare must be sustainable, equitable; which is a big thing. Service personnel must have access to healthcare wherever they are posted, and it must be scalable and understand our strategic environment.”
The partnership combines Leidos’ global expertise in health, logistics, and systems integration with Aspen Medical’s clinical prowess. James Evans, Leidos Account Director for Health, stressed the importance of delivering successful outcomes back to the ADF. “From my perspective, it’s about delivering back to the ADF. As an ex-serviceman, I understand the pressures and the requirements for people to be fit for duty, but also to receive the medical care that they deserve.”
Evans highlighted the need for agility and flexibility in healthcare delivery. “It’s about how do we bring that to life? and how are we flexible enough and agile enough to make sure that wherever you’re posted, whatever the need, we actually can meet that capability?”
The partnership aims to leverage digital health technologies, including clinical decision support and telehealth capabilities, to enhance healthcare delivery. Evans noted, “We’re bringing a specific defence healthcare experience and system integration approach. We’ve been providing this service directly to the ADF and tailoring the solution. We team with Aspen as the best of the delivery of their partner.”
As the ADF looks to the future, this partnership seeks to address the unique challenges of military service, such as remoteness, deployability, and fitness testing. By integrating advanced technologies and comprehensive healthcare services, Leidos and Aspen Medical aim to deliver a system that will truly be valuable to the ADF and its personnel.