31st MDG to offer better continuity of care, expanded access

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Lindsey Maurice
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  Aviano healthcare patients will benefit from another process improvement associated with the Patient Centered Medical Home initiative come Oct. 15 when the 31st Medical Group implements new hours of operation to improve continuity of care and increases appointment availability during peak hours.

Last month, Aviano joined 60 other Air Force Military Treatment Facilities to drive toward the Air Force Surgeon General's target of creating the largest Medical Home in the nation with more than 1 million enrollees. Ultimately, the goals of the PCMH initiative are to provide evidence-based, patient centered care, focused on continuity, preventive medicine and healthy outcomes.

The first step included patients being assigned to a PCMH team that consists of a primary care provider, nurse and medical support team providing Aviano families with continuity and a familiar face with each visit. The next step is better access to care.

In order to determine how to best serve its customers, the 31st MDG team garnered patient feedback through a survey which identified their preferred appointment times. The most frequently requested times were early morning and early afternoon appointments.

"Based on this feedback, we adjusted our clinic hours and provider schedules to make more appointments available during these time frames," said Lt. Col. Guy Majkowski, 31st Medical Operations Squadron commander. "By realigning our operations, we are able to provide 40 additional appointment slots to improve access to care."

The new 31st MDG hours will be 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, a shift from its current hours of 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"After studying 12 months of data, we found that few patients were requesting appointments between 5 to 7 p.m. with an increased demand for appointments during the early morning and early afternoon hours," said Capt. Stephanie Stemen, 31st MDG executive officer, "so instead of having one patient care team working late to cover the after-hours clinic, [the 31st MDG] will instead overlap their hours for a longer portion of the day to allow for more appointment availability in the time frame our patients are requesting."

Tech. Sgt. Bethany Medina, 31st Operations Group intelligence flight superintendent and mother of three, said the change in hours and appointment availability would be a welcome change.

"Appointments first thing in the morning are always best for our family, especially if my son wakes up with an ear ache or one of the kids is sick," Medina said. "I think making more appointments available during the early morning and afternoon is a good benefit."

Majkowski added that the Urgent Care Clinic will remain open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays to meet peak demand, while ancillary services, including laboratory, pharmacy and radiology will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

"We are committed to providing our patients 'trusted care anywhere' and will continually improve our operations to meet our beneficiaries' needs and achieve the goals of Patient Centered Medical Home," Majkowski said.

To schedule an appointment with the 31st MDG, call 0434-30-5000 or DSN 632-5000.