NAVAL HOSPITAL BREMERTON

JAN 2011 NOV ARE YOU READY FOR THE FLU SEASON? 2011
The influenza season is upon us, and its important for you and your family to take the necessary precautions. The most important steps to take to prevent the spread of flu viruses are to receive annual vaccinations, wash your hands with soap and water, and cover your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing. You and your family should also be prepared with an emergency plan and an emergency supply kit in case of a flu pandemic or epidemic. In the event of an epidemic, stay informed and follow the instructions of health and emergency authorities to practice safe infection control measures. ENROLLMENT OPEN AT NAVAL HOSPITAL BREMERTON Due to increased capacity, NHB has re-opened enrollment in all primary care clinics. For members PCS'ing into the area, enrollment to the hospital will be mandatory. Letters inviting back Active Duty Family Members who have been enrolled into the civilian network in the past year have gone out, as well as letters inviting back retirees previously enrolled to NHB as Active Duty or Active Duty Family Members. NHB's transition to Medical Home Ports has made this possible. Letters of invite are dependent upon available capacity in Medical Home ports. FROM THE NAVAL HOSPITAL BREMERTON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS OFFICE With Fall here and predictions of a "weak La Nina" winter, we can expect lots of rain, colder temperatures and snow. "Fall" into the habit now of checking your emergency preparedness kits in your house and office, and prepare your vehicle for icy, cold winter driving. Check your back up food supplies for any expiration dates; look at your back up supply of fuel for chain saws, generators, and your vehicles; get your generator and chain saws tuned up now to avoid the rush. When the news media warns of an impending bad storm is not the time to rush out and buy batteries or fuel. For more information and preparedness tips, see the Ready.gov, FEMA, Washington State or Kitsap County Department of Emergency Management websites. GREAT AMERICAN SMOKE OUT NOVEMBER 17TH, 2011 The American Cancer Society is marking this years Great American Smoke Out on November 17th by encouraging smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit, or to plan in advance and quit smoking that day. By doing so, smokers will be taking an important step towards a healthier life one that can lead to reducing cancer risk. Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US, yet more than 46 million Americans still smoke. However, more than half of these smokers have attempted to quit for at least one day in the past year. Quitting is hard, but you can increase your chances of success with help. The Naval Hospital Bremerton Health Promotion office or the Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program can tell you about the steps you can take to quit smoking and provide the resources and support that can increase your chances of quitting successfully. To learn about the available tools, call the Health Promotion Office at 360-475-4541.

Important Numbers Bangor Clinic 360-315-4391 Family Medicine 360-475-4379 NHB General Info 360-475-4000 Health Promotion 360-475-4541 Internal Medicine 360-475-4206 Marketing Dept 360-475-4408 Pediatric Clinic 360-475-4216 TRICARE Regional Appointment Center 1-800-404-4506 TriWest 1-888-874-9378 To be added to the email distribution list of this monthly newsletter, please call Kendra Scroggs at 360-475-4408

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CHANGES TO TRICARE MAIL ORDER PHARMACY CO-PAYS Effective now, co-payments for the TRICARE Mail Order pharmacy changed. This is the first change to prescription co-pays since 2002. Military treatment facilities and the Home Delivery option are the most cost-effective choices to obtain prescription drugs and provide the best value to the Department of Defense. Information is available on the web at www.tricare.mil/pharmacycosts . See below chart for comparison costs.

TRICARE INFORMATIONAL BRIEFINGS To increase awareness about the TRICARE program, Naval Hospital Bremerton is hosting TRICARE Overview briefings. These briefings are open to anyone interested in learning more about the TRICARE program. The next briefing will be held in Naval Hospital Bremertons Healthcare Support Building (Building 14) at 11:00 on the following date: December 7th. No reservation is required. For information, please call Kendra Scroggs at (360) 475-4408. FAMILY NIGHTS, PRE-DEPLOYMENT/INFO FAIRS? WE HAVE BRIEFERS AVAILABLE Naval Hospital Bremerton has staff willing to speak to your command or family group -- about Health Promotion activities, the TRICARE program, or any other health related topic you wish to discuss. Please contact Kendra Scroggs at 475-4408 if you are interested in having a hospital or TriWest rep speak to you. MOVES AND RELOCATIONS AT NAVAL HOSPITAL BREMERTON In order to increase efficiency and position services in the most accessible and logical site, some clinics and administrative spaces for Naval Hospital Bremerton will be relocating to new areas. As updates become available, further information will be disseminated. Effective now The Pediatric Clinic is located on the 3rd Floor of the Family Care Center (situated between the Dermatology Clinic and Family Medicine offices). The Coumadin Clinic has moved to the Internal Medicine Clinic, Room 6040A, on the 6th floor. There is no change to phone numbers or hours of operation at this time. The Substance Abuse & Rehabilitation Program (SARP) has been relocated to the 7th floor of the hospital. New phone number is 360-475-5350. Respiratory Therapy has moved to the 6th Floor, Room 6002. No change in phone numbers. Customer Relations Office will move to 1st Floor, Room 1106/1106A, effective November 7th. On the horizon The TRICARE Service Center (date to be determined)

TRICARE DENTAL PROGRAM CHANGES TRICARE Management Activity has awarded the TRICARE Dental Program (TDP) contract to Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Dental care coverage under the new contract begins May 1st, 2012, following a 12-month transition period from the current contractor, United Concordia Companies, Inc. New and enhanced benefits include an increase in the annual maximum, an increase in the lifetime orthodontic maximum, accidental dental injury coverage, an additional cleaning for women during pregnancy, and more. Under the new contract, enrollees will enjoy lower premiums in the first year. Info is available at www.tricare.mil/mybenefit/home/Dental/DentalProgram. During the 12-month transition enrollees can still access TDP customer service at 1.800.866.8499. If enrollees would like to check if their current dentist is part of MetLife's network they can visit www.metlife.com/dental. If the dentist is not a member, he or she can apply to become part of the network by visiting www.metdental.com. MetLife will distribute program information, provider network details and out-ofpocket savings details beginning in February 2012. PLEASE NOTE that the change to MetLife is for the TDP program only. The Active Duty Dental Program will still be administered by United Concordia. As of October 2011 the www.metlife.com/tricare site is live and can be used to obtain updated TRICARE Dental Plan (TDP) information regarding the transition to MetLife. Please note; this URL is not accessible using iPhones, Android, Blackberry or other mobile devices- but they are working internally to make adjustments. TRICARE YOUNG ADULT (TYA) PRIME: TRICARE Prime options (TRICARE Prime, TRICARE Prime Remote, USFHP, TRICARE Overseas Program Prime, and TRICARE Overseas Program Prime Remote) are now available under the TYA program. TRICARE Prime options are available for purchase starting December 1, 2011, with coverage beginning January 1, 2012. Family Members who want to purchase a TRICARE Prime option under the TYA program must meet certain criteria: Under age 26; Unmarried; Not eligible for their own employer-sponsored health care coverage; and Their sponsor must be eligible for a TRICARE Prime option. To purchase a TRICARE Prime option, family members must submit a completed application with their initial 3 month premium to the appropriate regional contractor. The 20th of the month rule still applies (if family members submit an application before December 20, 2011, coverage will begin January 1, 2012. Family members who submit an application after December 20, 2011, will have their coverage start February 1, 2012). The monthly premium for TRICARE Prime options is $201. The initial 3 month premium amount is $603. TYA Standard monthly premiums are dropping to $176 on January 1, 2012. Current TYA Standard beneficiaries may switch to a TRICARE Prime option by submitting a new application to their regional contractor. The premium is automatically adjusted. Family Members whose sponsor has TRICARE For Life are able to purchase a TYA Prime option, if available in their area. Family members whose sponsor is TRICARE Retired Reserve or TRICARE Reserve Select cannot purchase TY Prime.

CHILDREN IN HOSPITAL/CLINIC AREAS The safety of all patients (including children of adult patients or siblings of children being seen) is our primary concern. For this reason, and to avoid unnecessarily exposing healthy children to sick patients, we ask that only children being seen for an appointment be brought to the hospital. Children should not accompany parents for their adult visits as it is often inappropriate for children to be present in the room during adult physical exams. Additionally, for the comfort and safety of other patients and of your children, it is recommended that only children with appointments be brought to the clinics. Other childcare arrangements should be made for siblings without appointments. When children are in the hospital/clinic they must be supervised at all times and leaving them unattended in the waiting rooms is not allowed. Childcare arrangements (sitter, CDC drop off, etc) should be made, if needed, and if parents arrive with children who are not appointed and it seems unsafe for them to be seen, they may be rescheduled. Thank you for your cooperation. TRICARE PHARMACY VACCINE LIST EXPANDED Effective now, beneficiaries can receive vaccinations at participating TRICARE network retail pharmacies for free! Not every pharmacy is able to administer every vaccine. State laws affect which vaccines can be administered at a pharmacy. Please contact your pharmacy ahead of time to find out if they administer vaccines, which ones they administer, and if they have the needed vaccine on hand. You can go to
www.express-scripts.com/members/portalAlerts/vaccines/

to see a list of pharmacies that participate in this program or can call Express Scripts at 1-877-363-1303 for further information. Before you go, find out what type of documentation the pharmacy will need to prove vaccine administration (i.e. schools, employment). Since pharmacies dont have access to medical records, maintain proof or getting medical records updated is the beneficiarys responsibility. Remember, immunization/vaccines administered in a doctors office are still covered under the TRICARE medical benefit at no cost. SECURE MESSAGING AND COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR MEDICAL HOME PORT TEAM You can communicate directly with your Medical Home Port Team with the Naval Hospital Bremerton Online Medical Home Port service. You can use this service 24/7 from any computer with an Internet connection and Web browser to: Contact your providers office Ask questions and request advice about non-urgent health concerns at your convenience no more phone tag or unnecessary office visits Refill medication Easily refill medication prescriptions, request prescriptions be sent to your preferred pharmacy, and specify pick up or mail-order delivery. Schedule appointments Request appointments even when the office is closed. Cancel and reschedule appointments as needed, and receive online appointment reminders. Receive lab, x-ray and other test results Avoid phone tag and get results more quickly, with an explanation from your Medical Home Port Team attached. Request referrals Submit requests even when your providers office is closed. Access medically-reviewed information Learn more about a full range of healthcare topics, and access links to provider-recommended information and sites. Visit www.med.navy.mil/sites/nhbrem (click on Medical Home Port button to register)