Health Care

Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center is a 151-bed hospital with four patient-centered medical homes, three community-based medical homes, four Soldier-centered medical homes and 22 specialty clinics. The medical center serves Active-Duty service members, retirees and eligible Family members.

To receive health care at Darnall and its clinics, family members must be enrolled in TRICARE Prime. Appointments can be made by calling 254-288-8888 or 800-305-6421. For more information on benefits visit www.tricare.mil.

The Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) determines your eligibility for health care among other benefits. Whenever you marry, become a parent, divorce or move, your benefits are affected. It is very important that service members update information in the  DEERS database. Newborns must be registered in DEERS and TRICARE within 90 days of birth. If information is not current when you or your family seek health care, you may be responsible for some of the cost. You can update DEERS information by calling 800-538-9552 or visiting the local ID Card Office at Bldg. 130 on Legends Way.  You can schedule an appointment online at https://idco.dmdc.osd.mil/idco/.

Installation-Specific Information

Medical Care

Welcome to Fort Hood and Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center (CRDAMC). At CRDAMC, we are committed to providing our service members, families and veterans with quality, patient-centered care to promote a medically ready force and a healthy community. Because of this commitment, a team of the best-educated, professional physicians, nurses, therapists, technicians, dieticians and other allied health care providers, along with a dedicated administrative staff, work around the clock to ensure quality medical care and superior patient experience.

Active-Duty Service Members

Active-duty service members receive health care at Soldier medical clinics and health clinics designated by their units in most cases. Active-Duty service members are automatically enrolled in TRICARE Prime and enrollment is transferred to Fort Hood during in-processing. When care cannot be provided at Fort Hood, you may be referred to other military treatment facilities or to civilian medical centers. Active-Duty service members must have a referral and authorization for all non-emergency care received outside CRDAMC.

Active Duty Family Members

TRICARE Prime enrollment and transfer of Prime enrollment to Fort Hood is not automatic for Active-Duty family members. Enrollment can be completed or transferred by calling TRIWEST at 888-874-9378 or online https://tricare.mil/bwe/TRICARE Prime has no enrollment fees or out-of-pocket costs for care managed through CRDAMC. Active-Duty family members are assigned to one of seven family care clinics, three of which are community-based clinics conveniently located in Killeen and Harker Heights. Failure to transfer your enrollment/primary care manager to Fort Hood could result in access to care issues and out-of-pocket costs.

Appointments:

To make or cancel an appointment, call patient appointment service at 254-288-8888 or 800-305-6421 Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the third Friday of the month hours are 7 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. or visit the MHS GENESIS Patient Portal website.  https://my.mhsgenesis.health.mil/

Patient Portal

MHS GENESIS Patient Portal is an online patient-focused portal providing beneficiaries who receive care within CRDAMC access to their online health care information and various services including appointments, prescription renewals and refills, secure messaging and health risk assessments. Registration is through DS LOGON.  MyAuth will be replacing DS LOGON in the near future or go to https://my.mhsgenesis.health.mil/

Secure Messaging Service through the Patient Portal:

SMS brings your health care team to you, wherever you are, any time of day. It allows you to communicate with your primary care provider through secure email about non-urgent health care matters so your care team can respond during business hours. With online services from SMS, you can consult your provider, request appointments, referrals, medication and test results. Visit your primary care clinic for more details.

Nurse Advice Line:

The nurse advice line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to all military health care beneficiaries. Receive advice about urgent health issues, guidance on non-emergency situations and information about self-care for injuries and illnesses. Call the Nurse Advice Line at 1-800-874-2273 and select option 1.

TRICARE Prime for Emergency Medical Care

Active-Duty Service Members

Your identification card validates eligibility for emergency medical care. Active-Duty service members should receive all emergency care at the nearest military treatment facility, if possible. If you are admitted to a civilian facility, contact the nearest DoD military treatment facility (MTF), your unit and (CRDAMC) by dialing 254-288-8000 as soon as possible. If you are traveling out of the local area and need urgent care, visit the nearest MTF. If there is no MTF nearby, call the Nurse Advice Line at 1-800-874-2273 (Option 1), or call TRIWEST at 888-874-9378.  Routine care will not be authorized while traveling.

Active-Duty Family Members

A military identification card validates eligibility for emergency medical care. If you are traveling out of the local area and need urgent care, call the Nurse Advice Line at 1-800-874-2273 (option 1) or call TRIWEST at 888-874-9378 for a medical care authorization or information on where to access emergent/urgent care. Emergency care in a hospital that does not result in an admission does not require pre-authorization.  For more information on how to access Urgent Care, please call TRIWEST at 888-874-9378 or go to https://www.TRICARE.mil/CoveredServices/IsItCovered/UrgentCare.

Medical claims must be submitted to TRICARE Claims at P.O. Box 202112, Florence, SC 29502-2112. If your emergency or urgent care visit generated a prescription, it can be filled at an MTF pharmacy or any TRICARE network pharmacy. If you need assistance, call Express Scripts at 877-363-1303.

For more information on available services, instructions on how to make or cancel appointments, and how to contact your care team or other departments, please visit the CRDAMC Website directory at https://darnall.TRICARE.mil/.

Please follow us on our social media sites for daily updates on service changes and more: 

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChwDIfYDcXZc3fbAPJo_fgQ

Armed Services Blood Program Blood Donor Center

The Robertson Blood Center is your military blood donor center at Fort Hood and is a part of the Armed Services Blood Program - the official military blood program. The Soldiers and staff collect blood donations in support of troops and families deployed worldwide. The blood donor center is in Building 2218 761st Tank Battalion Avenue, next to the Thomas Moore Clinic. The operating hours are Monday to Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Thursday hours are noon to 3:30 p.m. You may sign up to donate online or, to schedule a blood drive, call the blood donor recruiter at 254-287-5938. For donor-related questions, please call 254-285-5808.

When you move, TRICARE moves with you. No matter where you go in the world, TRICARE is there before, during and when you get to your next duty station.

There are steps you need to take to make sure changes to your TRICARE coverage go smoothly. Understand that when you move, you may have to use a different TRICARE option. Visit TRICARE Moving to learn more.

Before you move, you should take care of any routine medical needs, including immunizations, and fill your prescriptions so you have enough while traveling. If you need care during your move, visit TRICARE Getting Care When Traveling to learn what to do.

Filling prescriptions while traveling

You should refill prescriptions before traveling. But if you run out of a prescription drug while traveling, visit TRICARE Filling Prescriptions When Traveling.

Getting dental care while traveling

Getting dental care while traveling depends on your location and whether you are a service member or family member.

• If you are an active-duty service member within the United States or in U.S. territories, and near a military installation, you may be able to get emergency dental care at the dental treatment facility, or DTF, if available. If not, contact the TRICARE Active Duty Dental Care Program before you see a dentist and tell the contractor about your move. You will need to get an authorization before you see a dentist. The Active Duty Dental Care Program will work with you, so you can get care from a local network dentist.
• If you are an active-duty service member at an overseas location, call the TRICARE overseas regional call center to get authorization before you see a civilian dentist.
• If you are an active-duty family member within the United States, in U.S. territories or at an overseas location, you can find out if any nearby military dental treatment facility treats active-duty family members. If you're enrolled in the TRICARE dental program, call the TRICARE dental program contractor or visit their website to find a provider. You will need to get an authorization before you see the dentist.

With permanent change of station orders, ask for a copy of your medical and dental records from your military treatment facility and the dental treatment facility. Do this at least one month before your PCS date. The MTF should also transfer a copy of your record and any family records to your new duty station or you may be able to hand carry them to your new duty station.

If you want someone else to be able to get medical or dental information on you or your family while you are moving, you need to complete a DD Form 2870, "Authorization for Disclosure of Medical or Dental Information."

For more information on getting copies of medical records, visit TRICARE Request Copies of Medical Records.