Vandenberg medical group introduces secure messaging capability Published Aug. 30, 2013 By 30th Medical Group staff 30th Medical Group VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The 30th Medical Group is excited to begin patient registrations for MiCare, the Military's online confidential secure messaging service. This system has been shown to significantly reduce the number of phone calls between patients and providers, increase patient satisfaction, and save time for the medical office staff and the patient. The 30th Medical Group aims to enroll as many patients as possible into MiCare and utilize secure messaging as the primary form of communication between patients and their healthcare teams. Patients currently enrolled in MiCare are already talking about the ease, accessibility, and benefits of this Internet-based service. One MiCare enrollee said, "it is always empowering to be able to communicate via the Internet about routine health issues - and can very well prevent visits to the clinic..." Another enrolled patient said MiCare "will answer lots of questions and save so much time for both doctors and patients." Through MiCare, patients can request appointments with healthcare providers, get test results, request prescription refills, or ask their healthcare team medical questions via a secure electronic message that bypasses phone-trees, voicemail, and phone tag. Additionally, parents can enroll their children into secure sub-accounts within MiCare, increasing communication with their Pediatric provider and allowing them to better manage their child's care. While MiCare is currently only set for secure messaging, plans are in the works to include Personal Health Records at a later date. To register, patients should visit the 30th Medical Group to initiate the face-to-face registration process. The front desk staff at Family Health and Pediatrics, Space and Missile Medicine and Dental clinics, as well as Outpatient Records is on-hand to guide patients through the process. Patients will need show their military identification card and provide basic information such as name, last four of their social security number, birthday and email address. An email will be sent to patients to finish enrollment and afterwards, confidential messages may begin. MiCare has been designed to support patients and healthcare teams and will be implemented Air Force-wide, so once registered, a patient will remain in the system--no matter where the Air Force takes them. For more information, patients may visit the 30th Medical Group or utilize the following resources: - 30th Medical Group website: http://www.vandenberg.af.mil/units/30thmedicalgroup/ - 30th Medical Group Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/30thMedicalGroup - Call 606-CARE (2273)