LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
All Langley beneficiaries enrolled in the 633rd Medical Group Flight, Family Health, Pediatrics or Internal Medicine clinics can now conveniently communicate with their health care teams via MiCare, a secure web-based messaging system accessible on and off base.
"No one likes waiting on the phone, and the reality is that we can only mitigate so much telephone traffic because of the demand for medical services. MiCare will give patients an electronic option in an electronic age to access their medical team when it is convenient for them," said Lt. Col. Amy Russo, 633rd MDG senior group practice manager.
The MiCare system allows patients to contact their health care teams for non-urgent questions without the hassle of phone tag and waiting for a provider to call back. Therefore, instead of having one singular point of contact, there is a medical team answering patient questions.
Russo said that not everything requires an appointment. There are a lot of questions and concerns our patients have for non-urgent medical care, such as medication refills, status of referrals, general health questions or requests for appointments.
The health care team provides answers to patients' questions within 72 hours via an e-mail alerting that an answer is waiting on the MiCare Portal.
"As the fastest growing medical treatment facility in the Air Force medical service, we recognize the need of the large beneficiary population," Russo said. "We want to provide patients with easy access to our health care teams, so when they have questions and concerns they know that we care."
Enrolling in the MiCare program is a two-step process to ensure patient privacy. First, individuals must go the USAF Langley Hospital, present a military identification card to a member of the clinic staff, and answer personal identification questions to initiate enrollment. Next, the clinic staff will send the individual an e-mail invite, allowing registration to the MiCare Portal.
Another benefit is that once enrolled in the MiCare program a patient does not have to re-register upon permanent change of station; the only change made will be the primary care manager.
Our civilian counterparts have already been engaged in this program for several years. It is a part of a larger AFMS' strategic initiative to improve communication and access to our medical care, Russo said. "The Department of Defense is making sure we are providing a similar service to our civilian counterparts, and it will only improve the trust that our patients already have in us."
Easier access to our health care team will break down communication barriers so patients do not have to sift through bureaucracy to reach their medical care team, said Russo. "MiCare is a phenomenal program that we're excited about, and we want everyone to enroll."