POLICY GUIDANCE FOR DD FORM 1380 TCCC CARD

In accordance with DHA-PI 6040.01, 20 JAN 2017

The DD Form 1380, TCCC card, will serve as the record of trauma care rendered at the point-of-injury (POI) and during tactical field care and prehospital evacuation to be imported into the Service member’s electronic health record (EHR). First responders, to include clinical providers, will document treatment provided according to their skill level or scope of practice using the current TCCC guidelines in accordance with Reference (e) and Service policy.

The DD Form 1380, TCCC card, at Enclosure 3, with accompanying instructions located in Enclosure 4, should be disseminated to the widest extent possible within each of the Military Departments. The instructions at Enclosure 4 for completing the DD Form 1380, TCCC card, are officially maintained on the DoD Forms Management Program website at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/forms/eforms/dd1380inst.pdf.

The DD Form 1380, TCCC card, should be stocked in applicable organizational medical equipment sets, kits, and outfits to include, but not limited to, Combat Lifesaver bags, Individual and Joint First Aid Kits (IFAKs, JFAKs), and Unit First Aid Kits located on all operational platforms (e.g., vehicle, aviation, and shipboard assets). This change should occur with expediency to make the revised cards available for use to support the appropriate documentation of care in all contingencies.

Background

Pre-Hospital or Pre-Medical Treatment Facility (pre-MTF) documentation of medical interventions by first responders at the POI is critical to ensuring continuity of care and providing meaningful analyses of medical interventions, techniques, tactics, and procedures rendered at the POI.

In a deployed, combat, or training setting, all personnel have the potential to be casualties, and all personnel have the potential to be first responders. First responder care capability is also known as tactical combat casualty care. Tactical combat casualty care [or TCCC] occurs during a combat mission and is the military counterpart to prehospital trauma life support. Prehospital trauma care in the military is most commonly provided by enlisted personnel and includes self-aid and buddy aid and combat lifesavers. TCCC focuses on the most likely threats, injuries, and conditions encountered in combat and on a strictly limited range of interventions directed at the most serious of these threats and conditions.

DD Form 1380 promotes DoD goals of capturing documentation of pre-MTF medical interventions at the POI using a MIST format (Mechanisms of injury; Injuries; Signs & Symptoms; and Treatments). It is designed for use by all first responders, including non-medical personnel.

Commanders will ensure that all first responders carry and use DD Form 1380 to document pre-MTF care at the POI. Such care relates to both battle and non-battle injuries.

Once completed, the DD Form 1380, TCCC must be visibly attached to the patient. Upon arrival at a Role 2 or Role 3 MTF, the DD Form 1380 will be included with the paper medical record, then scanned and entered into both the patient’s EHR and the trauma system’s trauma registry. Role 2 and Role 3 MTF Commanders must establish a clear process to ensure entry of the medical information recorded on DD Form 1380 into both the EHR and the trauma registry.

The DD Form 1380 will be a component of the IFAK, JFAK, and other first aid kits utilized. Corpsmen, combat medics, and tactical evacuation personnel should carry multiple blank versions of the form.

First responders will complete all entries as fully as possible on the DD Form 1380 unless under extreme conditions whereby the casualty and/or provider’s safety may be at additional risk.

All abbreviations authorized for use in DoD health records or DoD trauma registries may also be used on DD Form 1380.

All entries on the DD Form 1380 will be made using a non-smearing pen or marker.

All entries on the DD Form 1380 should be printed clearly, including the first responder’s name.