1. How do I cancel an appointment? Please keep your appointment, but should you need to cancel an appointment or reschedule, call the appointment line at (912) 435 6633 or 1-800-652-9221 as soon as possible. Or access appointments by www.tricareonline.com*, hours are 24-hours a day.

2. What if I am late for an appointment? Please arrive 15 minutes earlier than your appointment time. We understand that nobody likes being late, but occasionally things happen. If you arrive later than the actual appointment time, we will try to fit you in. However, we don’t want to inconvenience other patients who are waiting.

If you are late these are your options:

• Wait for the provider to work you in;
• Reschedule into an unused appointment slot with the same provider later in the same day;
• Wait to be seen at the end of scheduled appointments that half-day;
• See another provider if an appointment is available sooner;
• Reschedule the appointment for another day.

3. How do I make a complaint? Please take the time to ask to speak with one of our staff members or please  fill out one of our Comment Cards located on the wall in our hallway.  We appreciate hearing from you and hope you are happy with the healthcare and services we provide.

4. How do I make a compliment? Please take the time to ask to speak with one of our staff members or fill out one of our Comment Cards located on the wall in our hallway.  We appreciate hearing from you and hope you are happy with the healthcare and services we provide.

5. How can I help my physican help me? We are here to help you, but we need your help. Many people are concerned about a visit to the doctor. The most common concerns are fear of the unknown and not understanding what is going on or going to happen. These are both absolutely normal. The doctor doesn’t know what your concerns are or what you want to know, and never having been there, you don’t know what to ask.  If you understand what is going on and what is going to happen you will be better prepared and able to help yourself. Please ask questions, make sure you understand the answers and the medical terminology. It is great if you have all your questions written out so that you can hand them to your doctor. This will help the doctor understand your concerns and help you remember your questions.
Patient Commitment:

• I will do everything in my power to assist in my healing.
• I will keep all of my appointments on time, listen attentively, ask questions and follow the agreed-upon treatment.
• I will keep my healthcare provider informed of any problems or questions.
• I will keep healthcare provider informed of any therapy or medications I take.
• I will let my healthcare provider know about my concerns or worries that may affect my medical condition.
• I will consciously choose to believe in our ability to make a difference in the healing process.

6. How do I get test results? The doctor is available for consultation by telephone. If you have any concerns and would like to discuss them with the provider, call (912) 435-6633. The medical support assistant will ask for your name, telephone number, and a basic outline of the concern/problem. The provider will call you back as soon as possible. Please be patient; finding time between patients is sometimes difficult.  Calls will be returned within 24-hours for phone consultations.  If you are calling for test results the provider may want to see you, so you may be asked to make an appointment.

7. How do I update DEERS?

Why update DEERS: When your primary care manager orders a consult we look in DEERS to find your phone number.  This is the only way we have of scheduling your appointment.  If this information is not correct we may not be able to reach you.  This causes a delay in your healthcare and may cost you money.

Making a life change? You need to include your Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) in your planning to ensure complete coverage from your TRICARE program.  If this information is not accurate, TRICARE may not be able to verify your eligibility for care or procedures. You could incur the cost of your healthcare.

How to update DEERS: You can update your DEERS records by: Contacting Defense Manpower Data Center Support Office (DSO) at 1-800-538-9552.  Or you can update your address and phone number in DEERS by accessing the web at: www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/address/index.jsp.* Or you can visit the ID Card Section at the Soldier Support Center, Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield.

Please update your address and phone number in DEERS and include all family members.

8. How do I get TRICARE information?

Location: 852 Harmon Avenue, Bldg. 202, Fort Stewart

Phone: (912) 435-6230 or (912) 435-6716

Services: TRICARE benefit information claims issues, non-availability statements, medical travel benefits, referral information, TRICARE for Life information, active-duty family member dental information and retiree dental information.

TRICARE Service Center

Location: 852 Harmon Avenue, Bldg. 202, Fort Stewart

Phone: 1-800-444-5445

Services: Enrollment into Prime, adding family members to Prime, transfer of enrollment, provider directories, TRICARE for Life information, Primary Care Manager changes, claims, referrals and benefits questions.

Important Numbers:
Beneficiary Service Line (referrals/claims) – 1-800-444-5445

Humana Military Audio Library (health information) – 1-877-217-7946

TRICARE online – www.tricareonline.com

TRICARE for Life – 1-866-773-0404

TRICARE Web site - www.tricare.osd.mil

9. How do I get a copy of my birth certificate? There are three ways you may request a copy of your birth certificate:

1. Online at www.vitalchek.com
2. Contact the Liberty County Probate Court Office in Hinesville, Georgia, at (912) 876-3635.
3. Contact the Georgia Department of Human Resources, Vital Records Branch, at (404) 679-4705/4704.

10. What are the Access to Care Standards? To ensure that beneficiaries who use the Department of Defense (DoD) Military Health System receive medically necessary care when they need it, DoD leadership developed access standards for TRICARE Prime enrollees. What’s important is ensuring that access to care is easy, fast and logical.

TRICARE’s standards for access are:

In an emergency, TRICARE beneficiaries should call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

Access standards give TRICARE leaders a tool to measure the actual waiting and drive times beneficiaries experience and to fix problems when they occur. By measuring access to care, DoD leaders can improve customer service. Their goal is to provide beneficiaries the world’s best access to health care. To ensure they receive evaluation of illness in a timely manner, TRICARE Prime enrollees have access to primary care manager services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Besides making access to care easy to track and improve, DoD leaders also realize those long waits at the provider’s office squander away valuable time. That’s why the standards for access also measure how fast beneficiaries receive care for non-emergency situations at the provider’s office. TRICARE’s goal of treatment within 30 minutes of patient’s arrival at the provider’s office is very ambitious compared with other health plans.

With the aid of TRICARE’s health care finders, even referrals from primary care managers are handled rapidly. If a beneficiary needs to see a specialist, the care is arranged swiftly through TRICARE’s vast provider network. In some regions, the services of a health care finder are available to beneficiaries 24 hours a day, seven days a week. TRICARE’s access standard for travel time to the specialty care provider’s office is 60 minutes.

Even if a health plan is easy, fast and logical to navigate, though, problems can occur. How leadership deals with problems is another form of health care access. For example, TRICARE provides assistance with enrollment, claims and health plan questions through the various TRICARE service centers in the regions.

Following is a list of the categories of care with the corresponding TRICARE access standard. When reading this list, remember that a health care provider using professional standards and clinical judgment may specify more appropriate appointment guidelines, based on the needs of the beneficiary.

Emergency - a sudden or unexpected condition or the acute worsening of a chronic condition that is threatening to life, limb or sight and that requires immediate medical treatment to relieve suffering from painful symptoms.

Under a recent TRICARE policy change, emphasis is placed on the symptoms that prompted the emergency room visit rather than the final diagnosis. This is called the Prudent Layperson Standard, which means that someone with average knowledge of health and medicine could reasonably expect that the absence of medical attention would result in placing a person’s health in serious jeopardy, serious impairment to bodily functions or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.

Urgent Care - medical attention for a condition that, while not life or limb threatening, could become more serious if not treated. Examples of urgent care include eye or ear infections and suspected bladder infections. When traveling away from home, this type of care, unlike emergency care, requires the authorization of a primary care manager.

If a beneficiary is enrolled in TRICARE Prime, urgent care must be obtained at the primary care manager’s office. If a beneficiary is not sure where to go for treatment, he or she may contact a health care finder. The services of health care finders are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Urgent care is provided in one day or less.

Routine Care - is medical care for symptoms-such as colds and flu or low-back pain, for which intervention is required, but is not urgent. The maximum waiting time for routine care is one week.

Well Care - is medical care to promote health maintenance and prevention, for example Pap tests. The maximum waiting time for well care is four weeks.

Specialty Care - is provided by a specialist in TRICARE’s provider network after referral by a primary care manager. The maximum waiting time for specialty care is four weeks.

After Hours Care - patients must be treated by the local emergency room. A full examination determines further care by emergency personnel or after hours care personnel.