OCR Text |
Show Hilltop Times February 19. 2004 Medical appointment system changing Common Access Card deadline is March 1 Appointment changes by Marty Kessler Chief. TRICARE In response to feedback from the Hill AFB community, the base clinic is revising the appointment system. The goal is to improve daily appointment availability, reduce telephone wait times and create a hassle-fre- e process for patients. "If we are to gain the trust of our warfighters and their families we must do a better job to reduce the barriers to accessing care," said Maj. Mark Devoe, the 75th Medical Group's group practice manager. "Military beneficiaries want the same thing as most consumers from their health care quality affordable care they can obtain when they need it." To better serve the growing population and the appointment demand, the clinic recently increased the number of appointments by 33 percent. The result of these additional appointments provides more flexibility for patients to schedule both same-da- y and future appointments. The shift in workload will dramatically improve customer service and will lead to increased satisfaction. For years the clinic has used the popular healthcare model of having nurses triage patients on the phone. The intent was to provide a assessment of patients' healthcare needs but in the end, more than 90 percent of all calls resulted in the nurse booking an appointment. The old system created inefficiencies in staff productivity and a system where customers were often asked to make two phone calls - the first to TriWest and a second to their primary care manager. The new business process shifts appointment scheduling from clinic staff to TriWest and allows nurses and clinical staff medto focus on their primary mission: delivering hands-oical care. On March 1, TriWest assumes primary responsibility for appointment scheduling for all beneficiaries assigned a primary care manager in Family Practice or the Pediatric Clinic. This includes sick-caappointments for military members assigned to the Family Practice Clinic. Active duty members assigned to Family Practice will no longer be restricted to calling at designated times during the day and will have the ability to schedule a same day appointment throughout the duty day. Additional slots have been built into the appointment templates to support this process change. To minimize the impact of marketing materials already in circulation, military members will have the option of calling either or the existing Family Practice Sick Call number at and select the TriWest general appointment line at option two to speak with a representative. The most frequent complaints received from customers are up-fro- nt first-lev- el n ll 586-972- 0, 728-260- 0, OPENING GRAND Our new office Layton now open On March 1 , TriWest assumes responsibility to schedule family practice and pediatric appointments Hill Clinic Appointment lines open at 7:30 a.m. and are available throughout the day Call Family Practice sick call at 586-972eral appointment line at 728-260option 0; 0, For Flight Medicine appointments, call wait times incurred between 6:30-7:3- 0 a.m., and having to call so early. On March 1, appointment phone lines will open at 7:30 a.m. This operational change is necessary to ensure TriWest has adequate staff to accommodate the increased workload and the surge of calls. The goal is to educate our customers there is no need to rush to the phone at 7:30 a.m. to schedule an appointment. Eventually customers will discover they are able to schedule appointments throughout the day. Patients enrolled to Flight Medicine will encounter little will call TriWest to schedule a change. Active duty non-flyers sick call appointment, starting at 7:30 a.m. Flyers walk in between 7:30-- 8 a.m. or p.m. Family members assigned a Primary Care Manager in Flight Medicine will continue to call weekdays after 9 a.m. The Flight Medicine appointment number is The Department of Defense has made great strides in crehealthcare system for the beneficiary ating a world-clas- s population over the last several years. The Defense Authorization Act of 2001 included sweeping healthcare reform and major benefit improvements for active duty family members, retirees, and their families. The next step is to ensure we implement a first-rat-e customer service process within our military treatment facilities. Active duty clinic personnel must also meet duty, readiness, and training requirements; these may preclude them from always having the appropriate staffing to meet the demand of the enrolled population. During those times, they will implement a backup plan that can prioritize and expedite care to the civilian community, when necessary. For more information, contact the 75th MDG practice man7 or agers' office at 777-471- 0. 777-183- A Common-Sens- e 586-955- 75th Air Base Wing Military Personnel Flight The base's Military Personnel Flight's Customer Service ID card office has issued about 20,000 Common Access Cards since April. The deadline for all base personnel to be issued a CAC is March 1. With almost 1,100 people still needing cards, the ID office offers these tips: Friday is the busiest day of the week and waiting times can soar to over an hour. Custumer volume generally increases any time school is not as many sponsors prefer to bring their dependents on these days. Mornings are less busy than afternoons. During lunch periods, the office's manning is reduced, increasing wait times. All requested changes or additions to the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System must be presented by the sponsoring military member or employee, and be supported by legal documentation, such as birth certificates,' marriage certificates, divorce decrees, Social Security cards or court orders. Original documents, certified copies or photocopies bearing a file number are required. The Personnel Data Systems don't update DEERS as quickly as military members might think. If you have, been promoted or reenlisted, within the past six months," bring source documents. Also, bring your dependents' Social Security cards. Recent changes to the DEERS software have enabled the ID card office employees to see when socials are not loaded in DEERS. When a social is not in DEERS,: the system will automatically suspend clinic entitlements within 90 days of the record being identified. DoD Civilian Employees not in DEERS must bring a prop-- " erly completed DD Form 1172, "Application For Uniformed Services Identification Card," from Civilian Personnel to be enrolled. Contractors must bring a completed DD Form "Application For Department of Defense Common Access Card DEERS Enrollment," signed and verified by a Security Manager that has submitted a DD Form 577, Signature Card, to the ID card office. Due to the complexity of the DEERS network and the e high volume of users, the DEERS network may, without notice, become extremely slow or become unavailable. As a result, the length of wait time may increase. For more information, contact the ID card office at Ext. Civilian 1172-2- , DoD-wid- Approach to Uncommon Style Stiannon Quick Money 0 777-47- 1 For more details, call the 75th MDC group practice manager's office at 777-- 1 837 or 586-955- 1 is in or TriWest gentwo by Staff Sgt. David K. Klernan Rpyal Dragon Mc Bride's C H I . tfsbtr County's $ Cash $ When You Need It POST DATED CHECKS :'rrAuY cnnv--ns- duty. CaS Stiannon McSnoe A uwd Iwrtrlare or horn decor. ;r t SMALL LOANS l.::K i:.ittai..'t-i::.-:l."!- -- to consign your softly it '.: ".'.7. Now Open 7 days a week Dine-i- n or Carry Out Banquet Room Available. 10 0fF(AII Regular Priced Menu Items To ALL Federal Employees of HAFB i Monday to Ihursday only. 5410s1900wRoy .. Hill Air Force Personnel ... We Accept Your Military Dental Insurance. NESE CUISINE LUNCH SPECIAL consignment - tmmza furntsSimgs''',, onty csnstnweflt $tor I Ml mi ran by David Bert Havas Attorney at Law YOUR PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY FROM A DEFENDANT'S PERSPECTIVE There are four elements to a negligence claim-dut- y of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages. To win, the plaintiff must prove facts for each and every element. In most civil cases, it is the plaintiff's burden to convince a judge or jury that the facts are true "by a preponderance of the evidence," meaning that the plaintiff must establish that the chances are better than 50 that his or her facts are true. Conversely, the defendant has the advantage of having only to prevent the plaintiff from proving the truth of at least one fact for that ANtvv Era of "Patient Friendly" Dental claim. To win, the defendant need only raise sufficient doubt in the judge's or jury's mind about any one element. Ca&e: Til: Caesar R. Hearne, DSS Complete Cosmetic & Family care Gentle Air Abrasion Fillings Wisdom Oral IV Teeth Extractions Sedation Available 88O 395-055- i (Mi SUITE Visit at on tht Wan at http:wwwJiaratlaw.com 8. 220 Layton FAX: 728-486- 8 Emergency & New Patients Welcome 72S-4SS8- i) 3 Look Your Best! ($300 Value) BRIGHTEN YOUR SMILE!!! "Whiter teeth have given me such confidence . . . I feel like smiling all the time now." to disprove a plaintiff's facts is to develop evidence that casts doubt on the credibility of the plaintiff's evidence. Park Blvd. $150 Smile Whitening HINT: One way for a defendant W. HERITAGE 1 ' When in doubt as to whether or not you have a case, see your attorney. If you have been injured and are concerned about the legal costs, you should know that most personal injury attorneys accept cases with merit on a contingency basis, and the client pays no attorney fees unless and until there is a monetary award. The attorney will then accept a percentage of the compensation he or she wins for you. For a legal consultation regarding personal injury or employment law, call me at my office is located at 533 26th Street. Suite 100 r j, a V rr 1 n i ttu i idiTtn rjn Bin, rrn ' : |