Col Dale Harrell, commander of the 88th Medical Group at Wright-Patterson, said the new portal is “more enhanced” than the current Tricare online portal.
The new portal, which goes live at midnight June 3, will give the medical center’s 65,000 beneficiaries access to their health records, physician note and test results 24 hours a day.
“It will replace a whole bunch of health care systems,” Harrell said in at a town hall streamed online Wednesday.
The portal will offer a single 24-7 point of access to a military member’s health care records from basic training to retirement. “That record follows you wherever you go,” the commander said.
But the new system will entail a period of adjustment, and medical center leaders want patients and families to prepare now. They advise patients to refill scripts and take care of medical appointments and tests this month, when possible.
One week before MHS Genesis goes live, the ability to book appointments will be turned off as the legacy system is shut down, said Col. Thomas Gifford, the medical center’s chief medical informatics officer. And the ability to send messages through the Tricare online platform will be turned off two days before.
“Initially, we’ll see a little bit of a slow down,” Gifford said.
Hospital leaders expect longer waits in the center’s emergency room and extended prescription refill and test result times, as well. Patients are encouraged to download medical records from Tricare online now.
The Department of Defense has used MHS Genesis since 2017. The DOD’s plan was to complete the rollout of Genesis to all DOD treatment facilities by this year.
Wright-Patterson’s medical center will be among the last in the continental U.S. to use the new system. The center is the second largest Air Force medical center.
“We’re not the first to get it. A lot of the issues with the rollout have been corrected,” Harrell said.
Based on industry averages, it takes about 90 days for providers to adjust to the new system and return to normal wait times, the base said in March.
“Everything is basically slower as we learn the new system,” Gifford said Wednesday.
Patients who are new to the system are encouraged to register for access at https://patientportal.mhsgenesis.health.mil. Patients who need help registering are encouraged to visit the Medical Center or call (937) 257-0209.
Another piece of advice: Make sure your information is up to date on the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System or “DEERS.”
More information and updates can be found at the 88th Medical Group’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/88thmdg and https://wrightpatterson.tricare.mil/.
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