Defense Health Care

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to initiate an education program for the military services on acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), focusing on: (1) DOD development and management of the program; (2) the legality of DOD procurement of the AIDS education program; and (3) DOD program expenditures through August 1990 and its plans for further expenditures.

GAO found that: (1) DOD adopted a reasonable approach to the acquisition of an interactive videodisc (IVD) program about the human immunodeficiency virus and AIDS; (2) DOD officials were actively involved in the program's direction and management, and DOD program decisions, actions, and expenditures complied with applicable laws and regulations; (3) DOD took several key decisions and actions to increase the likelihood of the program's success; (4) the services reasonably transferred appropriated IVD funds to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences for the development of a uniform program that would meet DOD needs; (5) the University reasonably concluded that it had authority to enter into a sole-source contract for providing programs and IVD equipment; (6) DOD could still use funds it obligated under the 1988 contract to purchase IVD equipment; (7) as of August 1990, DOD spent about $4 million of a $9-million appropriation on program production and equipment; (8) the University delivered the first of four IVD products to DOD in September 1990; (9) DOD expected complete delivery of all IVD programs to the services by August 1992; and (10) DOD expected to spend about $4.1 million on equipment and about $3.7 million on program development.