TRICARE Nurse Advice Line

  • Published
  • By 66th Medical Squadron
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Nearly half of all urgency care and emergency room visits are for non-emergency issues. Unnecessary ER and urgent care visits result in longer wait times for patients as well as higher costs.

The Nurse Advice Line, which became available May 30, is a team of registered nurses located outside of your individual Military Treatment Facility, or MTF, who are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

When calling the NAL, a customer service representative will first verify your eligibility. You will then be transferred to a NAL nurse, who will ask a series of questions about your specific concerns.

The NAL nurse will provide health care advice and, if you need a same-day appointment for an urgent problem, can make an appointment for you directly with the military healthcare team.

If Nurse Advice Line nurses cannot schedule an appointment at the 66th Medical Squadron clinic, they help you find convenient high-quality urgent care. The Nurse Advice Line also notifies your primary care manager of your call.

The NAL is available for the following:

· Answer a variety of urgent healthcare questions.
· Give instruction on self-care at home.
· Triage patients who have new (acute) symptoms that have just happened or that they have not been seeing a provider for in the past.
· Book same day (acute) appointments if indicated after receiving answers to symptom based questions.
· Make referrals to urgent care centers and emergency departments in network if indicated after receiving answers to symptom based questions and if there is no availability at the 66th Medical Squadron clinic.

Patients must answer symptom based questions to determine the need for an acute appointment.

Patients can still call their PCM or the clinic for other types of appointments or follow-up care. The NAL is the option for patients to access the care they need and want in a timely fashion. To access the NAL, just dial the clinic number, 781-225-6789 and choose option 1.

The NAL is not available for the following:

· Symptoms that are not new or are already being followed by a provider in the past.
· Routine, follow-up, well, dental, optometry, physicals or any other appointments.
· Medication refills.
· Leaving messages with your military provider teams regarding convalescent leave, Exceptional Family Member Program, in or out processing or other paperwork.
· Technician walk-in services:
o Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 to 10 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.
o The first Friday of the month from 8 to 10 a.m.
o B12 Shots
o Depo-Provera Injections
o HIV testing for active duty only
o Pregnancy tests
o Serial blood pressure checks
o Staple removal
o Suture removal
o Sore throat check and culture
o Weight checks

These options are still available by calling the clinic at 781-225-6789 and pressing the appropriate option listed below.

66th Medical Squadron clinic phone tree

To make sure that you navigate to the appropriate area, please read the instructions below as to how the 66th Medical Squadron phone tree is structured.

· "Please pay close attention to the following options on the phone menu as the menu was updated on June 3."
· To speak with a nurse, to book an appointment or to leave a message for your healthcare team, press 1.
· You have reached the Clinic Call Center at Hanscom and Nurse Advice Line.
· If you have a new medical issue and would like to speak with a nurse or schedule a same day appointment, press 1. Your call will be forwarded to the Nurse Advice Line.
· To book all other medical appointments, optometry appointments or to leave a telephone message for your primary care team, please choose one of the following options that will go to the clinic:
o For Family Health, press 2
o For Pediatrics, press 3
o For Flight Medicine, press 4
o For Optometry, press 5
o For PHAs, press 6