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72nd Medical Group phone tree changes Dec. 1

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  • 72nd Medical Group
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Effective on or around Dec. 1, the main phone line to the 72nd Medical Group will change significantly.

This change is occurring to better serve our customers and minimize wait times on the phone. The main phone number 734-2778 historically provided limited options to address the reasons why patients most frequently called the Medical Group.
The new phone tree has expanded to include more options. Option 1 will provide a breakdown of all the options as well as important messages from the 72nd MDG, including closures and events. Option 2 will be Pharmacy and prescription related services. Option 3 will be TRICARE related issues, including the Referral Management Center, Patient Administration and TRICARE representatives.

Option 4 will cover all specialty care clinics such as Mental Health, Surgery, Orthopedics, Chiropractic, Physical Therapy and Optometry. Option 5 will be the Primary Care areas including Family Health, Pediatrics, Flight Medicine, Women's Health and the Dental Clinic.

The final option, 6, is for Occupational and Preventive Medicine, including Public Health and Immunizations.

Medical Group staff asks patients to consider all options when using the new phone tree. Typically a medication question is more quickly answered by calling the pharmacy and speaking with someone directly. The same is true for referral questions, by contacting the Referral Management Center directly first and speaking with someone there. If an issue needs to be addressed by your provider team, these areas will direct your question/concern to the appropriate team. This eliminates the need to wait on hold for an appointment clerk to enter a message to the nurse.

By refocusing issues to the correct area for speedy resolution, your wait time on the phone should be significantly less. Your provider team will also have more time to spend with you when you are sick and focus on those patients who truly need clinical assistance with triage, care coordination and nurse advice services.

Should you have any feedback regarding the new phone tree system, feel free to stop by the 72nd MDG and enter a customer comment card or contact the patient advocate at 582-6201.