Welcome to BG Crawford F. Sams
Family Medicine Clinic and Patient Centered Medical Home
Services Provided
BG Crawford F. Sams Health Clinic primary care services include Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute and Chronic Illnesses, Disease Prevention, Health Promotion, Health Maintenance, Counseling, and Patient Education.
What is Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH)?
The PCMH is a team-based model of primary care service delivery, led by a primary care manager (PCM), which provides continuous, accessible, family-centered, comprehensive, compassionate, and culturally-sensitive health care in order to achieve the best outcomes. The model is based on the concept that the best healthcare has a strong primary care foundation with quality and resource efficiency incentives. The PCMH focuses on providing or arranging for the patient’s comprehensive health needs to include acute care, chronic care, and preventive services.
The PCMH model is the primary care means for providing comprehensive care to patients assigned to BG Crawford F. Sams Health Clinic. The PCMH model goal is to improve access to care, wellness prevention, provide coordinated and collaborative care, while ensuring a consistent, high quality, and safe patient care experience for patients. Key interdisciplinary collaboration, care coordination and using face-to-face and technological methods to strengthen patient-provider relationship.
What is Your Role in PCMH?
Partner with your team by taking an active role in your care and self-management goals.
- Speak up if you have questions or concerns. If you do not understand your plan of care, ask questions. It’s your body and you have a right know.
- Pay attention to the care you get. Always make sure you’re getting the right treatments and medicines by the right health care professionals. Don’t assume anything.
- Educate yourself about your illness. Learn about the medical test you get, and your treatment plan.
- Ask a trusted family member or friend to be your advocate (advisor or supporter).
- Know what medicines you take and why you take them. Medicine errors are the most common health care mistakes. Keep your team informed at every appointment of all medications you are taking to include over the counter vitamins, herbals, supplements, or medications received off posts. Keep your team informed of your visits to specialists and emergency care and all past medical history.
- Use a healthcare facility that meets The Joint Commission's (TJC) quality standards. BG Crawford F. Sams Health Clinic meets these standards.
- Participate in all decisions in your treatment.
PCMH Care Team Members (PCM)
YOU are at the center and a member of an interdisciplinary core care team. The other core care team consist of your selected Primary Care Manager (PCM), Team Nurse, and designated Medics or Master Labor Contract (MLC) Employees.
The PCMH Medical Neighborhood
This consists of the other services available to provide health care services to YOU that include (but not limited to): Referral Management, Translation Services, Behavioral Health Services, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Optometry, Laboratory, Radiology, Public Health, Army Wellness Center, Immunizations, Patient Advocate, Patient Safety/Infection Control Manager, Patient Administration Department, and EDIS.
The intent of the core team and medical neighborhood is to collaborate and coordinate services to improve your experience and healthcare outcomes.
Selecting a Primary Care Manager (PCM)
The TRICARE office will assign a PCM during in-processing. PCM change requests may be honored if capacity exists, if the requested PCM can meet the beneficiary’s needs, and if the change does not unnecessarily erode continuity of care. Please speak to the TRICARE Office in Room 225 for these requests.
Informational brochures listing the credentials and educational background of all Primary Care Managers are available at the Family Medicine Clinic and TRICARE Office.
If you do not have an assigned PCM, you have the right to select an available preferred provider when booking an appointment.
Coordination of Care/Referrals
If your PCM determines that you require a referral to a specialty provider they will place the order for either our clinic, the nearest MTF with capability to provide the care needed, or a host nation facility. If your referral is at our clinic our referral manager will contact you to schedule your appointment.
Your PCM may need to order a referral at the nearest MTF (i.e. Yokosuka Naval Hospital or Yokota Air Base Hospital). The clinic will receive the referral request and will contact you to schedule your appointment. If you do not hear from the clinic you were referred to in two business days, please call them using the phone numbers provided on the discharge sheet you receive at your appointment or contact your care team for assistance.
Due to military medicine's limited capabilities in Japan, you may receive a referral to a Host Nation Hospital. If your PCM orders a Host Nation referral you should visit the Translators office immediately following your appointment to fill out some simple paperwork. The translators will coordinate a time for your appointment that works for you and the Host Nation Specialty.
If care is needed at a CONUS facility our nurse case manager will partner with you to coordinate your care needs. If you have any questions about your care it is important contact your care team.
24/7 Access to Care Information
Appointment requests can be made by calling Central Appointments (0700-1600 M,T, W, F and 0700-1200 Thursday) or by TRICARE Online. To request an Appointment: call the appointment line at DSN 262-4175 or commercial 046-407-4175 or you can book using TRICARE Online at: https://www.tricareonline.com.
Electronic access is available 24/7 for you to request appointments, medication renewals, consults, lab test, obtain clinical summaries, and seek non-urgent medical advice at TRICARE Online and you can communicate with teams with secure messaging.