Q. What is MiCare and how do I sign up?
A. Take Command of Your Healthcare. MiCare Secure Messaging is an online service that allows patients to take command of their healthcare by offering efficient electronic exchange between patients and their healthcare team. It allows for a more secure exchange of health information compared to using a personal email account.
The Many Uses of MiCare:
MiCare allows patients to:
- Request their next appointment
- Request medication renewals
- Receive test and lab results
- Communicate online with the healthcare team about non-urgent symptoms
- Request a copy of their immunization records
- Accessing a large library of patient education materials
With MiCare you can receive a variety of messages. These messages include provider initiated messages, responses to your inquiries with advice on non-urgent matters, and reminder messages for appointments. MiCare will be implemented Air Force-wide, so once registered; you will remain in the system–no matter where the Air Force takes you.
Your healthcare team is dedicated to responding to all patient messages in a timely manner. The healthcare team will work to respond to all messages generally within a 72 hour timeframe. Please note that urgent messages should NOT be communicated via secure messaging.
MiCare and Security: MiCare is a secure platform where patients can communicate with members of their healthcare team and vice versa. MiCare ensures protection of your privacy. To protect information communicated via MiCare, all members -patients, staff members, and providers – are required to register and enter a unique Log In name and Password to access and use MiCare.
Only you and your healthcare team have access to your MiCare messages. Access to your MiCare inbox can be limited to designated practice members. This flexibility ensures maximal cross-coverage and confidentiality.
Security maintenance and administration are essential elements of MiCare operation and maintenance. MiCare utilizes several levels of security to protect the personal identifiable information of registered users. A secure connection is established with the browser to ensure that your personal information is encrypted or coded for transmission and storage. In addition, MiCare is in compliance with the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) (Pub. L. 104-191, Aug 21, 1996,110 Stat. 1936).
Benefits of MiCare: There are many benefits to using MiCare. These benefits include:
- Getting written advice that might be forgotten or misunderstood if communicated verbally.
- Avoiding the annoyance of waiting in phone trees and playing “telephone tag.”
- Close monitoring of health issues through confidential online communications without the inconveniences of traffic, parking, or lost days at work.
- Getting attention and direct contact with your healthcare team for non-urgent matters.
- Requesting medication refills, or lab, radiology, and medical test results.
- Requesting to arrange lab, radiology, medical tests, or appointments
- Obtaining patient education through a web-based application that gives you access to an extensive library reviewed by board-certified healthcare professionals from leading health institutions in the U.S.
Enrolling in MiCare:
Don’t delay-enroll in MiCare today! One MiCare enrollee said it is, “empowering to be able to communicate via the Internet about routine health issues – and can very well prevent visits to the clinic…”
Registration is a face-to-face process to ensure security of patient health information. Enrollment can be initiated at the MTF. All you need to do is show your military identification card and provide some basic information such as your name, social security number, birthday and e-mail address. You will then receive an email to finish your enrollment. Responding to the e-mail is a very important step. You will only be able to complete the registration process by following the e-mail instructions. Once you have accomplished this you are ready to start messaging with your care team.
The future of military health has arrived and AFMS patients can be part of it! Take command of your healthcare, register for MiCare today.
MiCare participation is limited to those beneficiaries empanelled to a PCM.
Send your questions to askthedoc@nellis.af.mil.
