BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. –
Patients of Barksdale's 2nd Medical Group will soon be able to talk to their primary care manager privately anywhere and anytime thanks to the new MiCare messaging system.
Scheduled to begin on base Aug. 1, secure messaging will be available to patients through what is known as the MiCare portal, built to facilitate secure, online communications between patients and their healthcare team.
"Patients can request medication refills, or lab, radiology and medical test results," said 2nd Lt. Christopher Robosky, 2nd MDG Medical Services Corps group practice manager. "They can also arrange lab, radiology, medical tests or appointments through MiCare."
Anyone who has a PCM at the Barksdale military treatment facility is eligible to sign up as soon as the program comes online. This includes, active duty, retired military and dependents.
"Active duty can submit the MiCare e-registration form distributed by their first sergeant," Robosky said. "All non-active duty must come to the MTF, show their military identification card and provide some basic information such as name, social security number, birthday and email address. After that, the patient will receive an email to finish the enrollment."
The enrollment e-mail will be from the company that administers MiCare, called Relay Health, so patients should be check their junk e-mail folders and be aware that the message will not be from the 2nd MDG.
MiCare is designed to make medical care across the Air Force more efficient.
"MiCare will make routine health care more convenient for our patients, while reducing unnecessary visits to the MTF, thus freeing up our providers to see more acute patients," said Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Charles B. Green, Air Force Surgeon General. "This is an important goal in Air Force Patient-Centered Medical Home."
The services provided by MiCare will not be limited to online communications between healthcare providers and patients.
"Patient education materials available through MiCare give our patients access to an extensive library reviewed by board-certified healthcare professionals from leading health institutions in the U.S.," Robosky said.
In addition, according to Air Force Medical Service officials, in the near future MiCare will offer patients secure access to their personal health record. The PHR feature will allow patients to capture medical information in a central, online location. Officials emphasized that this has not been an option for patients in the past, making it difficult for them to keep track of health information coming from different doctors, treatment locations, emergency providers and overseas stations.
To find out more, visit www.afms.af.mil/MiCare.
Editor's note: Gary Pomeroy and Jon Stock, Air Force Surgeon General Public Affairs, contributed to this story.