How to advocate for the best care.
As a military spouse, one of the first decisions we are asked to make involve our healthcare: “Will that be Tricare Prime or Select?”
Sometimes our spouses will simply take care of this for us, based on their own satisfaction with the Military Treatment Facility (MTF) at their current duty station. Other times, we will take the question to our local spouse circles to help us make a better informed decision, as it is often a process that we repeat at every new duty station.
Should I be worried about receiving care at the local MTF?
A lot of spouses and dependents remain on Tricare Prime because they don’t feel a need to go to the doctor often, and because of such, when they do need a referral, it’s typically a simple process.
However, some patients are diagnosed with a high-risk health condition by a doctor at the MTF and due to newer Tricare rules, if they wanted to transfer to Tricare Select to have more freedom in which physicians they see or facilities they use, they would have to wait until open enrollment season.
If you find yourself in this position, it is important to remember three things:
- You’ve had your body your entire life. Your doctor has known you for a short period of time. You know when something isn’t right. (And the same goes for your child if your child is the patient!)
- Regardless of what kind of facility employs your doctor, civilian or MTF, your doctor is still practicing medicine. No matter what, your doctor is human, and he or she is capable of overlooking something of significance or even misdiagnosing a patient.
- No one is going to care more about your body and health than you do. If you have questions or concerns about your health, testing, or recommended treatment, it is vital for you to speak up to your provider.
So what should I do if my doctor at the MTF isn’t listening to me or taking my concerns seriously?
If you are unsatisfied with your care at the MTF, the first thing you should do after talking to your doctor about your expectations is submit an ICE (Interactive Customer Evaluation) survey about your experience with as much information as possible. You can do this from home or your local MTF should also have computers that you can use to submit these surveys. These surveys are first viewed by higher leadership and then trickle down to the command level. (And if you receive great care, also submit an ICE survey!)
You may also want to consider speaking to a Patient Advocate at the MTF. They are able to interject on your behalf and find a satisfactory resolution to your complaint. If you truly do not want to see this particular provider again, you can also call Tricare and request a new provider to be assigned to you.
But what are my options if something serious happens with my care?
One of the common issues that many families have accessing care at the MTF is being denied a referral or diagnostic testing that they (the patient) feels is needed, such as an MRI. If this is the case, and you don’t wish to delay further care by asking to be switched to another doctor because you truly need what you’re trying to advocate for, the best thing that you can do is tell your provider is that you’re going to start working through the upper chain of command (COC) within the hospital and that you won’t stop until you get what you need – even if it means requesting a Congressional Inquiry.
The COC?! A Congressional Inquiry?! I really don’t want to upset my provider.
Thankfully, most matters will be resolved when you voice your concerns and expectations to your provider about what you need. By doing so, it shows that you are interested in taking an active role in your healthcare and that you will not allow them to make recommendations without an explanation, to simply dismiss your concerns or symptoms without further testing, and that you won’t allow yourself to fall through the cracks.
However, there will be that rare occasion when you just know something is wrong, and if your provider isn’t providing what you need to put your mind at ease, then you have a problem and you need to push back and if necessary, get the leadership your provider answers to involved. A great example would be if you had an injury and your provider prescribed physical therapy, but after a few weeks, there’s been no improvement or the injury has become more painful. At this point, it would be normal to ask your provider for some additional diagnostic testing, such as an MRI or other types of imaging. If your provider would simply just want to continue with the prescribed method that isn’t working, you would have every right to make the next step and get the leadership involved.
When it comes to your health or the health of your family, you have to worry less about the provider’s feelings and focus on getting what you or your family member needs.
You only get one body, and you know your body best.