Introducing MiCare, the Air Force's New Online Secure Messaging System Published May 31, 2013 By 49th Medical Group 49th Medical Group HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- The 49th Medical Group at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., 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 our patients. The clinic here aims to enroll as many patients as possible into MiCare and to 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." On MiCare, patients can request appointments with their primary care provider, 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. MiCare is currently set for secure messaging and will be adapted to include Personal Health Records (you can view your own medical information online) at a later date. MiCare registration for Holloman AFB began May 16. To register, patients must visit the 49th MDG to initiate the face-to-face registration process. Patients will need show their military identification card and provide basic information such as name, social security number, birthday and email address. An email will be sent for patients to finish enrollment and confidential messages may begin. Our plan is to complete this entire process within the medical group, before you leave. 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, visit http://www.afms.af.mil/micare or call 575-572-2778.