FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Team Fairchild’s 92nd Medical Group completed the second phase of its squadron reorganization Oct. 1, 2019, in accordance with the Secretary of the Air Force’s new policy designating squadrons to care for service members and beneficiaries separately.
The policy mandates that the 92nd Operational Medical Readiness Squadron take care of active duty service members, while the 92nd Health Care Operations Squadron provides care for family members and retirees.
“In addition to improving our ability to support readiness, improve the continuity of care, and reduce the frequency with which patients are booked with Primary Care Providers who are not their [Primary Care Manager], we organized smaller teams of providers based on squadron designation,” said Lt. Col. Michael McCarthy, 92nd HCOS commander. “Beneficiaries will be seen by providers from the HCOS, while providers in the OMRS will regularly meet with commanders and focus on Airmen with duty-limiting conditions and developing treatment plans for them to return to duty.”
The re-designation is a two-phase program, the first phase being completed in July with the re-naming of the squadrons, and now the completion of the second phase with the re-aligning of caregivers in the new squadrons. Caregivers who regularly service active duty deployments are aligned with the readiness mission, while caregivers engaged with mostly beneficiary care are assigned to the care of dependents and retirees.
“From our side of the OMRS, we are focusing on how we can help our Airmen maintain readiness and build a system to support them, starting from the primary care teams to commanders across base,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Hatcher, 92nd OMRS commander. “The provider teams will go to each unit and learn about the impact that duty requirements have on the health of Airmen, and improve our providers’ understanding of what mission requirements are as well as the strains that come with the job.”
Due to the re-structure, beneficiaries will receive a notification of changes with their Primary Care Managers to align with the re-organization. As PCM re-assignments are completed, beneficiaries will be mailed a PCM change notification to the address on file and may be contacted to reschedule existing appointments.
“There are going to be a number of provider teams that administratively will be moving to a different squadron and workflows, but the biggest changes are occurring administratively,” McCarthy said. “Regardless of the changes, the high quality medical care we provide our patients will remain the same.”
Alongside PCM changes, Military Treatment Facility Pharmacies will no longer be able to fill TRICARE non-formulary medications for patients who are not enrolled at the MTF. Those with a TRICARE Network primary care provider may utilize the TRICARE Home Delivery to continue receiving non-formulary medication at: https://www.express-scripts.com/TRICARE/benefits/homedelivery.shtml, or by calling Express Scripts at 877-363-1303.
“Although we focus on the medical readiness of our Airmen, this re-organization of the medical group is done to help us provide support for our Airmen, their families and retirees, enabling them to be functional both occupationally and at home,” Hatcher said.
For questions, contact the Patient Administration office at 509-247-5520.