New ‘Care Now’ initiative at clinic

  • Published
  • By Col. Jeremy Hooper
  • 341st Medical Group Commander
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  Due to prolonged provider non-availability, the 341st Medical Group is introducing the "Care Now" initiative. The medical group’s goal is to provide beneficiaries with the highest quality of health care in a timely manner, but due to circumstances such as outbound/inbound permanent change of station transition gaps, the clinic’s ability to provide appointments has not been optimal.

The 341st MDG is committed to ensuring patients have easy access to health care; therefore, the clinic is implementing the "Care Now" initiative to include access to routine care for non-active duty patients assigned to the Family Health clinic. Routine care is the regular care received from primary care managers, such as checkups, physicals, health screenings and ongoing care for health problems.

This "Care Now" initiative will allow patients to access routine care from a specific network provider. So how does this work? If a patient calls the clinic appointment line at 731-4633, and there are no routine appointments available in the Family Health clinic within seven days, the patient will be offered a referral to receive routine care from Benefis. The referral gives the patient a specified number of visits to see the Benefis provider and the patient will be allowed to receive all care from that provider, to include follow-up appointments. If the Benefis provider deems the patient needs specialty care or specific tests, they will enter the referral for that specific care. For active-duty dependents, there will not be a fee or any type of co-pay. However, all retirees and their dependents who choose to utilize this option for routine care will incur a co-pay.

The 341st MDG asks for your patience as they work through staffing shortfalls and apologize for any inconvenience experienced. This is a temporary measure that should be resolved before the end of the summer. For questions, contact 1st Lt. Cameron Owen at 731-7361.