Sore throat? Tricare Prime now offers virtual option for urgent care

Some members of the military community now have an expanded virtual option for urgent care.

Tricare Prime beneficiaries who see a primary care manager at a military hospital or clinic may be able to get a virtual appointment for urgent care if their local military treatment facility is booked, Tricare officials announced Thursday.

Patients can contact the Military Health System Nurse Advice line online or by phone at 1-800-TRICARE (874-2273). A nurse will assess whether they can get a virtual appointment that day or the following.

“This is part of the Defense Health Agency’s effort to improve health care access,” said Army Lt. Col. Ryan Shubat, chief of the Defense Health Agency’s primary care and mental health health care optimization, in the announcement.

The service is offered in the United States for eligible beneficiaries aged 12 and older, but not overseas or in U.S. territories.

Providers can address common urgent care issues, officials said, such as sinus congestion and infections; coughs; allergies; sore or hoarse throat; rashes; acne; muscle and joint pain; and headaches.

The nurse will ask about a patient’s symptoms, and decide whether the symptoms can be treated virtually. If it works for the patient, the nurse will set up the virtual appointment with a health care provider. Appointments are available from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Providers can write prescriptions and send them directly to the patient’s pharmacy.

All virtual urgent care providers meet high standards for patient care, officials said. Each provider has credentials and privileges at a Defense Health Agency military hospital or clinic.

The visit is recorded in the patient’s electronic health record.