Access to care for military members enrolled into TriCare Prime

The Tidewater area is home to 120,000 plus military members and their families. In 1997, military medicine began changing from the Civilian Health and Medical Program Uniformed Service (CHAMPUS) to a civilian managed care format for active duty members, their dependents and military retirees. The changeover was complete in 2000. Since 2001, complaints from TriCare Prime patients concerning a decrease in access to care have risen dramatically. This study set out to substantiate if complaints concerning a decrease in the availability of clinic appointment for military members and their families were valid. Instead, the findings found a substantial number of appointments were either unfilled due to not being at convenient times or due to No-Shows for appointments scheduled.; Sections of this project are currently an administrative tool at several military facilities analyzing access to care and evaluating alternatives to decrease emergency room visits by TriCare Prime enrollees.