Appointments & Referrals
McDonald Army Health Center offers our beneficiary population several ways to manage your healthcare appointments. You can make or cancel your appointments by utilizing one of the following resources.
MHS GENESIS PATIENT PORTAL
The Patient Portal is a secure website that provides access to health information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Through the new MHS GENESIS Patient Portal, you can:
• View your health information
• Exchange secure messages with your care team
• Request prescription renewals
• View notes from your clinical visits and certain lab or tests results, such as blood tests
• Request medical and active duty dental appointments
• Complete a pre-visit active duty dental health questionnaire online
• Look up information related to your health concerns and medications
Hampton Roads Appointment Center (HRAC)
The HRAC staff can handle an estimated 80,000 calls a month from patients seeking care at one of the three area Medical Treatment Facilities within the DHA Tidewater Market: Fort Eustis, Langley Air Force Base, and Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP).
Phone: 1-866-MIL-HLTH (1-866-645-4584)
Hours: Mon - Fri: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sat, Sun and Holidays: 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Closed on Christmas Day
Referrals
What is the Referral Management Center (RMC)?
The RMC is responsible for facilitating the referral process for all Active Duty Service members and TRICARE Prime beneficiaries enrolled to McDonald Army Health Center (MCAHC), Fort Eustis or the Lighthouse Clinic located at Fort Story.
Referrals are requests for specialty services or procedures that are not considered primary care. This includes urgent care that is not provided by the Primary Care Manager (PCM). Exceptions include emergency care, certain preventive and diagnostic services, and the first 8 behavioral health visits.
What is the Referral Process for TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Prime Remote?
Military treatment facility (MTF) PCMs enter referral requests into the military health care system
Civilian PCMs fax a Humana TRICARE Service Request/Notification Form to Humana Military at 1-877-548-1547. The form is available on Humana Military website: https://www.humanamilitary.com
Humana enters the referral into their system and then forwards it to the MCAHC RMC, which enters it into the military system. The appropriate specialty clinic reviews the referral entry. MCAHC has Right of First Refusal (ROFR) for all referrals. If the specialty care is available at MCAHC, the patient can schedule an appointment by calling the Hampton Roads Appointment Center (HRAC) at 1-866-645-4584. Please wait at least 2 business days before contacting HRAC.
If the specialty care is not available at MCAHC, the patient will be told when calling the HRAC that the care is being deferred to the civilian network, and the referral will be forwarded to Humana. Within 7-10 business days, Humana will send the patient an authorization letter with instructions on scheduling an appointment with a civilian specialist. The patient may call Humana at 1-800-444-5445 for assistance before actually receiving the letter. The patient may then contact the civilian specialist’s office to schedule an appointment. The access-to-care (ATC) standard for scheduling an initial appointment for routine specialty care is 28 days.
Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) or urgent specialty referral requests are coordinated doctor-to-doctor.
What is the Referral Process for TRICARE Select, TRICARE Reserve Select, TRICARE Plus & TRICARE For Life (TFL)
Non-Prime patients do not require referrals for most specialty care or certain diagnostic services (such as an MRI) if they get them from a civilian provider. Patients with Other Health Insurance (OHI), such as an employer health plan or Medicare, must follow their plan requirements; a review will be performed at the time the claim is submitted to TRICARE after payment by the OHI.
Non-Prime patients may receive specialty care at MCAHC on a space-available basis; a referral request is needed.
The patient’s civilian doctor may fax a request for specialty or diagnostic services to the MCAHC RMC at 757-314-7854. The RMC enters the referral into the military system. The applicable clinic will review the referral entry.
If the requested specialty clinic at MCAHC does have space available, an appointment will be scheduled when the patient calls the HRAC. If MCAHC does not have space available, the patient will have to choose a civilian specialist
How Can I Contact the RMC?
To verify a referral status contact the HRAC at 1-866-645-4584.
For assistance with referral issues please call 757-314-8065 / 8067 / 8064.
What is My Service Region?
Eligible beneficiaries located in Virginia will be enrolled in the TRICARE East Region.