Kadena implements MiCare

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Marcus Morris
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Tired of always having to call to make a medical appointment or walk in to get test results? With the new MiCare Secure Messaging program scheduled to be implemented here Oct. 1, patients will no longer need to do those things.

MiCare is an online service that allows patients to take command of their healthcare by offering efficient electronic exchange between patients and their healthcare team. Through this program, patients can 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, and access a large library of patient education materials.

"MiCare allows patients to by-pass phone trees, voice mails and playing phone tag," said Maj. Edwin Santos, 18th Medical Group group practice manager. "The healthcare team will work to respond to all messages generally within a 72-hour timeframe."

MiCare is a secure platform where patients can communicate with members of their healthcare team and vice versa. To protect information communicated, all patients, staff members and providers are required to register and enter a unique login name and password to access and use MiCare. The emails are also encrypted to protect patient's privacy and only the patient and their healthcare team have access to the messages.

"Registration is easy," said Tech. Sgt. Brian Swanson, 18th Medical Operations Squadron aerospace medical craftsman. "Please visit the Kadena Medical Group to initiate the face-to-face process. You will need to show your military ID, state your name, your date of birth, your social security number and give a valid email address."

MiCare will be implemented Air Force-wide by the end of fiscal 2013, so once registered, patients will remain in the system for the rest of their Air Force career.

For more information, please visit www.afms.af.mil/micare or visit the Kadena Medical Center.