Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas -- Airmen and Space professionals relocating on a permanent change of station with dependents are now able to access a Medical Provider Trends Dashboard that provides historical medical services information at Department of the Air Force installations. “The dashboard provides two years of historical data or a two-year history of travel recommendations or non-recommendations by base,” said Tamera Nelson, deputy assistant secretary for Strategic Integration. “It also allows a member to search by specialty provider, base or major command based on their family situation.”
For example, if a family member needs a pediatric gastroenterologist, they can search for that specialty and see which bases have positive travel recommendation histories. Travel non-recommendations are based on wait times and distance to the specialty provider, said Nelson.
The one constant amongst requests made by members was for increased transparency of available choices that support career progression for Airmen and their families. The dashboard provides that transparency.
“The tool is not absolute,” said Nelson. “It’s directional and should be used as a guide to help members start planning. It’s an answer to the requests, ‘help us plan our careers knowing we want to balance the needs of our family.’ An answer to Airmen wanting more visibility on what their options could be.”
“This dashboard is an excellent tool and provides a summary of family member travel,” said Col. Jennifer Hatzfeld, director of Air Force nursing operations. “However, every family member has unique needs and medical capabilities may change at individual locations, so it is still important to continue personalized travel screenings prior to each change of station to ensure adequate healthcare is available.”
The overarching goal is to holistically have Air and Space Professionals include their families in the decision-making process.
“This is just one of the tools the Department of the Air Force is providing our service members,” said Kimberly Schuler, acting chief of the Exceptional Assignment Programs Division. “We encourage our service members to log onto the dashboard with their families and review the data the tool has to offer. The EFMP families we work with daily are avid researchers and planners, and this is one more tool for their toolbox.”
Members can gain access to MyVector, where the dashboard is located, by using their Common Access Card to set up a profile.