Throughout the year, the Military Health System works to support Service members and their families and keep them healthy. In April, as the MHS information technology community celebrates Military Family Month, it is important to remember the role that technology plays in those efforts.
Accurate and secure electronic health records allow medical information to follow Service members and their families from one duty station to the next, without fear of losing important documents and records. As a Service member myself, I find comfort in knowing that every time my family moves, our EHRs will move with us, no matter how frequent or distant the move might be.
TRICARE Online is another valuable resource for military families. This Web-based tool, available at www.tricareonline.com, allows beneficiaries to access general health information, book health care appointments, request prescription refills and update their personal information. TOL’s Blue Button feature gives beneficiaries the option to save personal health data such as medication and allergy profiles, demographic information and a personal health summary to a convenient PDF or text file on their own computer.
Planned improvements to the Blue Button feature include simplified registration and login, and enhanced navigation tools. Also, TRICARE Online is working to offer Blue Button users access to even more data, such as lab results, problem lists and encounter notes, increasing transparency of medical care for Service members and their families.
MHS IT will also support the many beneficiaries eligible for the new TRICARE Young Adult program any time they visit a military treatment facility. Soon, this benefit will extend medical coverage for unmarried military dependents ages 26 and under with no access to employer-sponsored health care coverage. TYA will be premium-based, as required by the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2011. Once TYA is implemented, claims can be filed all the way back to January 1, 2011. For more information, visit www.tricare.mil/TYA/ .
MHS serves more than 9.6 million beneficiaries, including more than 700,000 spouses and an equal number of school-aged children of active-duty Service members. Approximately 2,400 babies are born into MHS care each week.
Military families often face challenges very different from those of the average citizen. Combat deployments, changing duty stations and busy operational tempos add to the everyday stress of raising a family in the modern age. I would like to thank you all of your efforts to make their lives, and mine, a little healthier.
By: Air Force Col. Portia Prioleau