• Medical Affairs

  Periodic Health Update (PHU) 2023

  The U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps requires Public Health Service officers to undergo annual periodic health updates (PHU) to better ensure the health of officers and meet mission priorities.

  All officers are required to complete and submit a PHU in the three-month window of their 2023 birth month period (from the first day of the month prior to their birth month until the last day of the month after their birth month). Some officers who entered the USPHS Commissioned Corps in 2022 or early 2023 may be exempt until 2024. Your Readiness dashboard should reflect the due date of your next PHU.

  There are some changes in the 2023 PHU requirements effective January 1, 2023 (please read these carefully):

  1. Virtual PHUs will no longer be accepted. Medical Affairs Branch (MAB) recognizes that there may be rare circumstances when you cannot get an in-person physical. In those rare situations, please immediately contact MAB (PHSMACCHQ@hhs.gov) and provide documentation from your clinic justifying the virtual PHU request. If MAB grants you permission to get a virtual PHU, you will receive a form from MAB which must be completed and signed by you. This form must be scanned or merged with your other PHU forms as Page 1 of your PHU PDF file Waiting until the last four weeks of your birth month period to begin the appointment scheduling process will not be considered a justification for a virtual PHU.
  2. A physical examination done earlier than two months before your birth month will not be accepted. For example, if your birth month is August and you turn in a PHU with a physical examination date before June 1, that PHU will not be considered current and will not be accepted.
  3. In addition to blood pressure and pulse, all PHU submissions must contain a current height and weight and “taping,” if your BMI exceeds 27.5 kg/m². If needed, “taping” must be documented on a properly completed PHS-7044-1 and be included in your PHU submission. The height and weight requirement applies to all officers including officers given permission to get virtual PHUs and officers who have active pregnancy waivers for whom taping is not required.
  4. Officers with active pregnancy waivers and elevated Body Mass Index (BMI) will be allowed to upload their PHUs without entering taping measurements. The 2023 Periodic Health Update Submission Checklist includes a check box so that the MAB PHU clinical screeners can better identify PHUs from officers with active pregnancy waivers.
  5. PHUs are intended to document your current health status. MAB expects to see in the PHU submission, your latest laboratory studies or other tests documenting the status your chronic conditions that are being actively treated.
     • Examples include:

  Condition	Submission
  Elevated Cholesterol	Lipid panel
  Hypothyroidism	Thyroid Function Tests
  Chronic Anemia	Complete Blood Count
  HIV	Viral levels and CD4 counts
  Diabetes	Hemoglobin A1C level
  Chronic Hepatitis	Viral levels and Liver Function Tests

  These tests do NOT need to be done at the time of your PHU. The last test that you had during the previous year, is acceptable.

  6. A new check box has been added on the 2023 PHU Checklist which must be checked when submitting a retirement physical. Remember, retirement physicals are uploaded through eDOC-U using the document name, “Periodic Health Update.”
  7. Due to the change in the Active-Duty Dental Plan, MAB will continue to accept dental examinations that were done no more than one year prior to your birth month.

  You should review the PHU Instructions for Officers before completing and submitting their PHU.

  The requirements for the 2023 PHU include seven components:

  1. Medical History: Self-reported update of your medical history since your last submitted PHU which is given to the your medical provider for review, verification, and their signature (form DD-2807-1)
  2. Physical Examination: In-person examination based on your health risk factors, as determined by your provider. Minimum requirements are your vital signs (pulse and blood pressure), height, and weight. The DD-2808* must be dated in Field #1 and signed by your provider.
     • If your Body Mass Index (BMI) exceeds 27.5 kg/m², your provider or their designate must perform “taping” and complete a PHS-7044-1, “Verified Weight Form” which must be submitted with the PHU. This requirement does NOT apply to officers with active pregnancy waivers.
  3. Behavioral Health Survey: Self-reported, then given to your provider for review and signature. The behavioral health survey will facilitate a discussion with you and your provider about your mental well-being. (form PHS-7083). The PHS-7083 will NOT properly score and save your responses unless you download the form to your computer before you fill it out and save it.
  4. Dental Examination: Done within 12 months prior to your birth month (form DD-2813)* dated and signed by the dental provider.
  5. Additional Tests: Screening tests as recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) (e.g. cervical, breast and colorectal cancer screening) and any other testing recommended by your provider based on the officer’s age, medical, family, and deployment history, and the officer’s occupational and environmental exposures and risks. See bullet #6 in the paragraph above.
  6. Disclosure Statement: dated and signed by the officer.
  7. 2023 PHU Submission Checklist: completed, dated and signed by the officer. The checklist is not a requirement, but its completion and inclusion as one of the first pages in your PHU submission is highly recommended and will significantly assist MAB when reviewing your PHU.

  *The DD-2808 and DD-2813 will not open in most browsers. It must be opened in a PDF reader such as Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat. Download the document (even if the document does not appear on your screen) to your computer desktop (it should open from there) then complete and save.

  You should provide all necessary forms and a copy of the PHU Instructions for Providers and PHU Instructions for Completing DD-2807-1, 2808, 2813 to your medical provider at the time of your appointment or before, if possible.  You should also take a copy of the dental form, DD-2813, to your dentist at the time of your appointment.

  All forms and provider instructions are included in a single PDF file, “PHU Appointment Documents,” which can be found on the CCMIS website under Forms/Medical.

  Submitting your PHU:

  1. You must scan or merge all documents and test results into a SINGLE PDF file. All pages should be oriented in the proper direction. You can use a scanner setting of 200 d.p.i.
  2. The preferred order of documents: Submission Checklist, Disclosure statement, DD-2807-1, PHS-7083, DD-2808, PHS-7044-1 (if needed), DD-2813, additional medical records.
  3. The file must be uploaded through the medical section of eDOC-U using the document name, “Periodic Health Update.”
  4. Most common reasons for rejection of a PHU submission:
     1. Scanning errors or illegible scans (review the file before uploading to ensure it is readable and oriented in the proper direction)
     2. Missing required PHU components
     3. PHU components are not submitted in a single PDF file
     4. Forms are not dated
     5. Required forms are not signed by the provider (only an officer signature on the DD-2807-1 will be rejected)
     6. Minimum requirements for the physical exam (Height, Weight, Blood Pressure, and Pulse) are not documented on the DD-2808
     7. A PHS 7044-1 is not submitted with the PHU when an officer’s BMI exceeds 27.5 kg/m²

     If additional medical records create a file that is too large for uploading, you should submit the required PHU documents in a single PDF file using the document name, “Periodic Health Update” and send the additional medical records in a separate PDF using the document name, “Medical Records.” The required PHU documents should be uploaded before your due date even if the results of some additional tests are not yet available. The additional testing can be uploaded later using the above instructions.

     If you use your PDF application to merge separate documents into a single PDF, please disable the “Portfolio” option for merging. This option creates a file that is larger than necessary and more difficult to review.

  Last Updated: 12/19/2022
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