Fort Bliss access to care top-ranking in Army

Photo By Marcy Sanchez | Anthony Garza, medical support assistant, Internal Medicine Clinic, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, is one of many personnel at WBAMC ensuring obtainable Access to Care for patients at the Internal Medicine Clinic, April 26. The Internal Medicine Clinic along with Rio Bravo Medical Home, Soldier Family Medical Center, Spc. Hugo V. Mendoza Soldier Family Care Center, East Bliss Clinic and McAfee Army Health Clinic at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, make up WBAMC's Primary Care Service Line. The Service Line has sustained a "green" status for Access to Care over the last six months, making it one of the top in Army Medicine.  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

05.03.2017

Story by Marcy Sanchez  

William Beaumont Army Medical Center

Over the past few years Army medicine has developed beyond battlefield medicine. Army medicine is providing Soldiers, retirees and their family members the care they need, when they need it.

To ensure prompt medical attention, the Department of Primary Care at William Beaumont Army Medical Center has adjusted their approach to patient appointments resulting in a six-month long “green” status in beneficiary Access to Care.

“Access to Care is the ability for our patients to be seen when they need to be seen,” said Lt. Col. Elizabeth Duque, chief, Department of Primary Care. “We have maximized the number of appointments our providers can see during the day and maximized their time available to their patients.”

In order to meet the needs of the Army, the Department of Defense initiated an Access to Care campaign which required Medical Treatment Facilities (MTFs) to have appointments available within 24 hours for acute care and within seven days for routine care.

“When patients can’t get an appointment with their providers they go to the Emergency Room or urgent care which costs more money for the healthcare system and is a lengthier wait for them,” said Duque, a native of Annapolis, Maryland.

In addition to longer wait times for acute issues at ERs, emergency visits only allow for the treatment of a single acute issue while primary care visits may focus on the “whole” patient or other patient concerns.

“We’re trying to make it more convenient for patients and increase availability for appointments,” said Lt. Col. Theresa Mack, chief of nursing services, Department of Primary Care. “Patients don’t have to be dependent on calling in for an appointment. If they’re feeling sick or have a sick child at two in the morning, they can get on the computer and have an advantage to getting an appointment through Tricare Online.”

In an effort to improve availability to patients, primary care developments have included the increased promotion for the use of virtual medicine such as Tricare Online and Relay Health’s secure messaging. With these platforms beneficiaries are able to book appointments, refill medications and communicate with their healthcare team. Other new programs include WBAMC’s after-hours pediatric clinic, telephone consults and walk-in care for specific syndromes such as a sore throat, urinary tract infections, and others.

“Nurses will triage patients (to determine if their condition is appropriate for walk-in care), run tests to verify and then present results to provider for a quick exam,” said Mack, a native of Fargo, North Dakota. “It’s a method to make sure that those patients get seen quickly.”

While the availability of appointments may increase patient satisfaction, sustaining the continuity of care between patients and their assigned healthcare teams has also remained a top priority for primary care clinics.

“Patients have better access to care when they have better continuity because they know the provider, the provider knows the patient and there’s a relationship in developing trust that occurs with that,” said Duque. “It’s confusing for patients as well as the medical team when they don’t know (each other) and they’re basically starting over.”

According to Duque, in instances where a Primary Care Manager (PCM) may be out due to sickness, another PCM will treat the patient with assistance from the patient’s assigned primary care team, such as nurses and other staff the patient is familiar with in order to continue that continuity of care.

For Janise Davis, a retired Soldier who receives care at the Spc. Hugo V. Mendoza Soldier and Family Care Center, scheduling appointments has been stress-free since retiring six months ago.

“I haven’t had any issues and have been able to get in to my provider when I’ve needed to,” said Davis. “The challenge has been more my schedule than (appointment availability).”

Although the department’s Access to Care has improved appointment availability, approximately seven percent of Department of Primary Care appointments result in a no-show, taking away an appointment for others who may have benefited.

“In addition to getting an automated phone call with the option to cancel, patients will still get a call from a nurse to verify availability for upcoming appointments,” said Duque. “We don’t need to waste the patient’s time and bring them in for a 20-minute appointment to go over (results from lab work, medication refills, etc.) when communication can be done over the phone.”

Beneficiaries can call 742-2121 or visit TricareOnline.com for more information.

• Date Taken: 05.03.2017
• Date Posted: 05.03.2017 15:37
• Story ID: 232434
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US
• Hometown: ANNAPOLIS, MD, US
• Hometown: FARGO, ND, US