Fort Bliss Monitor

Troop Talk

I received several questions about medical care from Soldiers and this week’s column will address their concerns and provide answers given by the William Beaumont Army Medical Center commander.

I am a Soldier with allergies and I have been trying for two years to get a referral to an allergy specialist. If there are not any allergy specialists available at WBAMC, why can’t I get a referral to a doctor off post or at another installation?

Soldiers with allergies who are referred by their Primary Care Manager to the allergy clinic will receive a routine appointment date within 30 days of their PCM visit. If the Soldier does not receive an appointment, they should call the PCM to verify the referral was made. If the patient is still having allergy symptoms they should make an appointment with their PCM for treatment and a referral to an allergist. In some cases an allergist is not available; patients are referred to the network for treatment. We encourage all Soldiers and patients to follow up with their PCM when referred for specialty care if they have any questions.

I have two EFMP family members and I would like to be able to schedule their medical appointments with the same doctor so that the doctor will become familiar with their specific needs and their medical history. Thus far, my EFMP children have seen a different doctor almost every time they have gone to WBAMC. Is it possible to have a single doctor manage their care?

In the Pediatric/Adolescent clinic, we strive for all children to be seen by the same physician/provider during a clinic visit. However, with more than 7,000 children empanelled to the clinic with an average of five to seven physicians/providers this is a challenging task. The number of children empanelled to the clinic will continue to increase as the active duty population increases. We are preparing for this increase in the patient population through proposed staff level increases as a component of modularity and Base Realignment and Closure. It would be impossible for patients to see the same physician on every visit due to personal leaves, training, temporary duty and deployments that may cause a physician not to be available. Every physician/provider has access to your child’s history because of annotations made in the patient’s record or in CHCS.

The clinic operates on a team concept. This team concept allows for the patient to be seen by any physician/provider in the clinic and for them to take leave, attend training, and other related activities. The Pediatric/Adolescent Clinic uses the Comprehensive Health Care System II. CHCS II is an electronic record and provides an opportunity for continuity of care. If medical records are not located in the hospital, the CHCS II system can be utilized to view any previous visits to the clinic, thus enabling the treating physician to be able to deliver care along the same lines as the PCM if the physician is not available. If the patient cannot be treated in the clinic, the patient will be referred to other clinics in the hospital or to the TRICARE network.

Patients may be able to have the same physician upon request; however, we will not be able to guarantee this action in every situation. We assure you that each child is given the best treatment available and if the treatment is not available here the patient may be referred to another facility.

A lot of Soldiers that I know have no choice but to take their children to the ER for what usually ends up being routine care (fever, cold, flu, etc.) because it is the only facility open when they get off work. Has anyone ever considered opening a portion of the clinic to pediatric care with extended hours, such as from 6 to 8 p.m.?

The Pediatric Services does have an on-call pediatrician who covers the ninth floor, Labor and Delivery and the Emergency Room. If there are questions or concerns about the pediatric clinic, call Sgt. 1st Class Edgardo Rodriguez, NCOIC, Pediatric Clinic, or Catherine Davis, head nurse, Pediatric Clinic at 569-2507 during duty hours.

The WBAMC command and staff continually explore ways to meets the needs of all of our patients and beneficiaries.

Brig. Gen. Robert P. Lennox
Fort Bliss Commanding General



www.bliss.army.mil	Published for the Fort Bliss/El Paso, Texas Community	November 10, 2005

	Troop Talk I received several questions about medical care from Soldiers and this week’s column will address their concerns and provide answers given by the William Beaumont Army Medical Center commander. I am a Soldier with allergies and I have been trying for two years to get a referral to an allergy specialist. If there are not any allergy specialists available at WBAMC, why can’t I get a referral to a doctor off post or at another installation? Soldiers with allergies who are referred by their Primary Care Manager to the allergy clinic will receive a routine appointment date within 30 days of their PCM visit. If the Soldier does not receive an appointment, they should call the PCM to verify the referral was made. If the patient is still having allergy symptoms they should make an appointment with their PCM for treatment and a referral to an allergist. In some cases an allergist is not available; patients are referred to the network for treatment. We encourage all Soldiers and patients to follow up with their PCM when referred for specialty care if they have any questions. I have two EFMP family members and I would like to be able to schedule their medical appointments with the same doctor so that the doctor will become familiar with their specific needs and their medical history. Thus far, my EFMP children have seen a different doctor almost every time they have gone to WBAMC. Is it possible to have a single doctor manage their care? In the Pediatric/Adolescent clinic, we strive for all children to be seen by the same physician/provider during a clinic visit. However, with more than 7,000 children empanelled to the clinic with an average of five to seven physicians/providers this is a challenging task. The number of children empanelled to the clinic will continue to increase as the active duty population increases. We are preparing for this increase in the patient population through proposed staff level increases as a component of modularity and Base Realignment and Closure. It would be impossible for patients to see the same physician on every visit due to personal leaves, training, temporary duty and deployments that may cause a physician not to be available. Every physician/provider has access to your child’s history because of annotations made in the patient’s record or in CHCS. The clinic operates on a team concept. This team concept allows for the patient to be seen by any physician/provider in the clinic and for them to take leave, attend training, and other related activities. The Pediatric/Adolescent Clinic uses the Comprehensive Health Care System II. CHCS II is an electronic record and provides an opportunity for continuity of care. If medical records are not located in the hospital, the CHCS II system can be utilized to view any previous visits to the clinic, thus enabling the treating physician to be able to deliver care along the same lines as the PCM if the physician is not available. If the patient cannot be treated in the clinic, the patient will be referred to other clinics in the hospital or to the TRICARE network. Patients may be able to have the same physician upon request; however, we will not be able to guarantee this action in every situation. We assure you that each child is given the best treatment available and if the treatment is not available here the patient may be referred to another facility. A lot of Soldiers that I know have no choice but to take their children to the ER for what usually ends up being routine care (fever, cold, flu, etc.) because it is the only facility open when they get off work. Has anyone ever considered opening a portion of the clinic to pediatric care with extended hours, such as from 6 to 8 p.m.? The Pediatric Services does have an on-call pediatrician who covers the ninth floor, Labor and Delivery and the Emergency Room. If there are questions or concerns about the pediatric clinic, call Sgt. 1st Class Edgardo Rodriguez, NCOIC, Pediatric Clinic, or Catherine Davis, head nurse, Pediatric Clinic at 569-2507 during duty hours. The WBAMC command and staff continually explore ways to meets the needs of all of our patients and beneficiaries. Brig. Gen. Robert P. Lennox Fort Bliss Commanding General