Health Care

The 377th Medical Group is located off base behind the Veteran Affairs Medical Center and is part of a joint venture with the Albuquerque Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Kirtland Air Force Base is in TRICARE West region and provides medical care to Department of Defense beneficiaries. For more information, visit the TRICARE West website or call 844-866-9378. To access all medical clinics, as well as make primary care or urgent care appointments, call 505-846-3200 or DSN 312-246-3200.

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.

Medical Care

The 377th Medical Group provides medical care to Department of Defense beneficiaries and is part of a joint venture with the Albuquerque Veterans Affairs Medical Center. This joint venture provides many services of a major medical center. Military active duty, family members of active duty, retired military and family members of retired military are entitled to receive this care.

The 377th Medical Group is located off base behind the VA hospital, off Gibson Boulevard. Take San Pedro or San Mateo south and go behind the VA hospital. It is closed on the last Wednesday of the month for training day.

In-processing

In-processing for the 377th Medical Group is through the Welcome Center, located in Room 119 the Consolidated Support Facility, Building 20245. Your sponsor or CSS will schedule your In-processing appointment with the Welcome Center. For more information, contact 846-4484 or email 377FSS.FSP.KAFBWelcomeCenter@us.af.mil.

Pharmacy

The base exchange’s pharmacy will be used to fill the following prescriptions: off-base provider electronic prescriptions, handwritten prescriptions, faxed prescriptions and all call-in refills. The main pharmacy will be used to fill prescriptions ordered by 377th Medical Group providers only. For more information, call 505-846-5770.

Medical care services are offered on a priority basis.

Family Health Clinic

Family members of active duty, along with retired military and their family members, will be seen in the Family Health Clinic. To book an appointment, call 505-846-3200.

Warfighter Clinic

All active-duty non-Personnel Reliability Assurance Program/non-flyers will be seen at the Warfighter Clinic. To book an appointment, call 505-846-3200. You can also send a secure message to the provider team.

Walk-in hours: Monday-Friday, 7-11 a.m. and 1-2:30 p.m., for the following services: sore throat, pregnancy test, Injections (B-12 and Depo-Provera), ear irrigation, wart treatment, Dysuria/urinary track infection (pain/burning with urination, urinary urgency and/or frequent urination).

Note: B-12, Depo-Provera and wart treatment require an initial provider visit.

About us: At the Warfighter Clinic, we treat all acute illnesses, perform personal health assessments and offer clinical procedures such as toenail removal, intrauterine device insertion/removal and shave biopsy. We also make referrals to off-base providers, as needed.

If care is unavailable on the installation and your primary care manager is located at the 377th Medical Group, approval can be received to get authorization to use off-base providers by calling the appointment line at 505-846-3200 or the Military Health Service Nurse Advice Line 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 800-874-2273, option 1.

Urgent care is defined as a medical condition that is not life-threatening but should get medical attention within 24 hours. Emergency means “a potential threat to life, limb or eyesight, or to prevent undue suffering.”

Under the “prudent person” concept, it is your judgment to declare a condition as needing emergency care. Important note to active-duty service members: There is a requirement to get a prior authorization for urgent care, and you must notify your primary care manager within 24 hours after emergency care. This can be done by calling the 24-hour a day main menu/appointment line at 505-846-3200.

If you are having a true emergency (a threat to life, limb or eyesight, or to prevent undue suffering), call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. IMPORTANT: The VA emergency room cannot treat children or OB/GYN patients. Emergency room locations in the Prime Network are the University of New Mexico Hospital at 2211 Lomas Blvd.; Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital at 8300 Constitution Ave. NE; and Presbyterian Hospital at 1100 Central Ave. SE.

For questions or assistance with medical issues, call Health Net Federal Services’ toll-free line
844-866-9378 24 hours a day or contact TRICARE West.

Dental Care

Dental care services are available to active-duty military only. Only emergency dental care is offered to other eligible individuals. When services are unavailable, those eligible for medical/dental care are referred to TRICARE. For the TRICARE Dental Program, you can call United Concordia at 844-653-4061 or go line to their website.

TRICARE Options

TRICARE offers eligible beneficiaries three choices:

• TRICARE Select is a self-managed, preferred-provider option for eligible beneficiaries.
• Under a TRICARE Select option, you pay a fixed fee for care from a TRICARE network provider instead of paying a percentage of the allowable charge. Using a non-network, TRICARE-authorized provider will result in both a higher deductible and out-of-pocket costs.
• TRICARE Prime is a managed health care plan that provides care through the military treatment facility and a network of civilian providers. Because this type of plan stresses the importance of health education and wellness programs, it is sometimes referred to as a Health Maintenance Organization. For further assistance, contact the TRICARE Office.
• TRICARE for Life is is Medicare-wraparound coverage for TRICARE beneficiaries who have Medicare parts A and B, regardless of age or place of residence.

For more information about various TRICARE plans, go to their website.

Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System

The Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System is a worldwide database of military families, retirees and others covered by TRICARE. The Department of Defense uses DEERS to check who is eligible for TRICARE benefits. Congress directed that the system be developed to make it easier to plan and distribute resources and to prevent illegal use of military benefits. DEERS helps service families by protecting health benefits for those who are actually entitled to care.

In the United States, all service families should already be enrolled in DEERS. Active-duty and retired personnel are automatically enrolled, but their family members must be registered by their sponsor to make sure they are correctly entered into the system. Even though TRICARE and the services frequently remind people to keep their DEERS information up-to-date, family members may not realize that they need to be properly enrolled before their claims will be paid. Eligible family members of reservists and National Guard members who are activated for 30 days or more are considered on active duty, and their parent command should assist with DEERS enrollment.

Family members who are not enrolled, or who are not sure about it, should contact a military personnel office. Military sponsors and family members must report any changes in status (discharge, births, divorce) or location to the nearest personnel office of any uniformed service immediately, to avoid claims problems. Call the Defense Manpower Data Center/DEERS support office at 800-538-9552 or go to the DMDC website.