Did you know?

  • Published
  • By Maj. Barbara Blake
  • 22nd Medical Group
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  The 22nd Medical Group is one of 16 Air Force Medical Treatment Facilities designated as an open access clinic. What does this mean to you, the enrolled beneficiary? Open access means that 60 percent of family practice appointments are designated as "same day." Benefits include being seen on the same day you wake up feeling sick or being able to schedule your medical appointment around other daily obligations. We know this does not always meet the needs of all of our beneficiaries; therefore, we still have 40 percent of family practice appointments open for future booking.

There are two ways to book an appointment with your primary care manager:
1. Log onto www.tricareonline.com.
2. Call the appointment line at 759-6300 between 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on duty days.

When using Web site, you must log in as the patient needing the appointment, so if the appointment is for one of your children you must log in using your child's login name and password. After logging in, click on "book appointment", select appointment visit reason and click on view appointments, then choose the appointment date and time that best fits your needs.

If your provider is unavailable or is fully booked, you will see a message stating "no available appointments." Simply click on appointments with other providers and you will see all appointments available for any provider on your PCM team. Choose the appointment date and time that best fits your needs.

The appointment line is available to book appointments anytime during duty hours; however, for a same day appointment it is best to call early in the morning. Our booking clerks follow clinic guidelines to help you access the highest quality healthcare.

For care after clinic hours, we now have a nurse triage line available. Call 759-6300 after hours and follow the prompts or call 1-866-277-9130.

The nurse triage line follows national guidelines in offering homecare advice, or contacts the on-call medical provider.

The on-call medical provider will triage to see if a referral to the network is required or if you can be seen at the clinic the next duty day.

As always, the 22nd MDG strives to provide the best care possible to our patients. Our patient advocate, Diana Diaz, welcomes any constructive comments you may have at 759-5017.