FORT LEE, Va  –   There’s a new way to send first-time prescriptions to Kenner Army Health Clinic, giving beneficiaries the convenience of not having to walk into the facility to drop off those requests.
 
The additional feature has been added to TRICARE’s Online Patient Portal, a medical platform that can be accessed by enrolled sponsors and their dependents, retirees and veterans. Those who have never visited the site will need to set up an account with a user name and password, or register a CAC certificate. Portal features include the ability to schedule appointments, track referrals and interact with assigned health care teams through secure messaging.

“The patient portal has been available to beneficiaries for over 15 years,” emphasized Linda Hamilton, deputy chief of Pharmacy Services at Kenner. “This portal has always allowed patients to make or cancel appointments, check lab results and request refill medications. Now, we are excited about this new feature and want to encourage patients to use this service.”

Hamilton noted how TOL’s prescriptions page already allowed users to request medication refills and choose a preferred military hospital or clinic pick-up location. The page now displays all new and/or refill medications that have been prescribed and entered into the system by one’s health care provider.

“In this time of COVID, the most obvious benefit of this new feature is that it limits patient exposure to others,” Hamilton acknowledged. “It also means the beneficiary only needs to make one trip to the pharmacy.”

The TOL PP cannot be used if the individual’s physician issues a hand-written hard copy prescription or if the medication is a controlled substance. Those patients must come to Kenner to drop off such prescriptions.

A new prescription from a military treatment facility provider or clinic will be visible and selectable on TOL PP as soon as it has been ordered. However, a new prescription that is ordered by a civilian provider and transmitted electronically to the DoD Healthcare System will be visible and selectable only after the military pharmacy staff has verified it in the system.

The Kenner Pharmacy currently has one window (No. 7) allocated for prescription drop-off services. During the drop off visit, the patient will be instructed when the medication should be ready for pick up. This also will happen with the new prescriptions entered and accepted through the TOL Prescription Page.  

“We still have a three-day turnaround for medication pick up, but we can expedite orders for new prescriptions of antibiotics and other emergent medications as needed,” Hamilton said. “Patients may pick-up their medications after receiving a text or phone notification.”

Use the following steps to access TOL PP information and services:

1. Go to www.TRICAREonline.com.
2. Log in with your DOD CAC, Premium DS Logon, or DFAS myPay credentials. Those who do not have DS Logon credentials should select the “Need an Account” link.
3. Click “Prescriptions” option on the TOL home page.
4. Confirm the primary military treatment facility, often abbreviated as MTF, where the prescription was originally filled. To request fills for a family member, select them from the drop down menu; users will see an updated list of prescriptions. Choose pharmacy pick-up location if one has not already been created in your profile.
5. Select the medication you wish to request from the list of active prescriptions. Enter a contact phone number if it is a new fill. Send your request.
6. To request refills not displaying on the list, select the “Manual Refill” option. Confirm the MTF where the prescription was originally filled. You may enter up to six numbers from the label on the medication container. Choose pharmacy pick-up location. Send the request.

Family members also can fill prescriptions through the TOL portal. After selecting the Military Treatment Facility where the prescription was last filled, click on family member from the drop down list. Then choose the prescriptions to fill, a preferred pick-up location and click “Send Request Now.”

In addition, users will now have the ability to receive email and/or text message notifications for military hospital or clinic prescription fills. The notifications will let beneficiaries know when the prescriptions will be ready for pick up or indicate its available when completed. Set up prescription notifications in “Profile” on the TOL home page.
 
“Our goal is to provide beneficiaries safe and efficient pharmaceutical care,” Hamilton offered as a closing thought. “We will continue to evaluate ways to improve processes that are of benefit to our valued beneficiaries.”
More information about the Kenner Pharmacy is available at https://kenner.tricare.mil/Health-Services/Pharmacy. The main and refill window hours are 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday-Friday; they are closed for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. Beneficiaries with questions or concerns also may call the pharmacy at 804-734-9535, option 8.