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Nurse Advice Line to provide patients with immediate health advice

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Terri Paden
  • 15th Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii --  A nurse advice hotline is now available to all service members and their dependents.

The NAL gives users 24-hour access to free health care advice for all TRICARE beneficiaries currently living in or temporarily travelling within the United States, Alaska and Hawaii.

Additionally, the NAL staff will guide and refer beneficiaries to the most clinically appropriate health provider or service based on their health needs and situation. The spectrum of care will include emergency care, urgent care, care from a primary care manager and self-care.

Lt. Col. Colleen Treacy, 15th Medical Group chief nurse, said the line should be used by people who have non-emergency, acute health care questions. Primarily, the nurses will help callers determine if they should be seen by a medical professional, or if they can treat themselves at home.

Treacy said in emergency situations patients should still dial 9-1-1.

"This is a way to improve access to care for patients that truly need to see a medical provider by educating non-urgent patients on home care," she said. "Hopefully by giving patients access to healthcare advice 24/7, many patients will be able to use homecare to treat their own issues which should free up appointments for patients who do require appointments."

Though access to physician advice will be available via the NAL on an as needed basis, callers should expect registered civilian nurses to handle most issues.

Treacy said callers should also not expect the nurses to prescribe medications or renew prescriptions.

"Registered nurses are not authorized to prescribe medications," she said. "Only providers with prescribing capabilities can do so. If the patient is strictly looking for a medication refill or renewal, many times they will not need an appointment and can simply use TriCare OnLine or contact their PCM via MiCare."

Though the NAL has not officially been stood up at all military treatment facilities yet, Treacy said the program has seen early success in the test phase with at least 60 percent of the callers being referred to home care.

Treacy said the NAL is the latest in innovative initiatives by the Defense Health Agency to make healthcare more interactive and convenient for patients. However, she cautions users against confusing the NAL with MiCare.

MiCare, the secure messaging service now available to give patients direct access to their medical team should be used for problems that do not require immediate medical attention, such as requesting lab results or refills. With MiCare, patients may wait up to 72 hours for a response. The NAL is designed for one call resolution with minimal wait times. Nurses will be available around the clock to provide immediate assistance for acute issues.
"The Nurse Advice Line, TriCare OnLine and MiCare are great ways for patients to meet their non-urgent health care needs 24/7 without having to spend time in a waiting room, waiting for the clinic appointment line to open up or waiting for the clinic nurse to contact them back regarding a telephone consult," she said.
For more information on the NAL, contact the 15th Medical Group at 448-6000.