The Lawrence Joel U.S. Army Health Clinic, Building 125, opened as a new facility at Fort McPherson in 1998. The staff provides a wide range of health care services to a large patient population. For the clinic information line and telephone directory, call (404) 464-0312.

Open Monday through Friday, patients may enter the building beginning at 7:30 a.m. Active duty personnel may access the appointment line Monday through Friday, beginning at 6:30 a.m. Urgent complaints are seen as soon as possible. Patients with non-urgent problems should schedule a routine appointment by calling (404) 464-2778.

Appointments are scheduled based on the patient's assigned primary care manager (PCM). Active duty patients are seen by the next available provider when an assigned provider has a patient backlog. For more information, visit the clinic Web site at www.mcpherson.army.mil/clinic/.

The clinic does not have an emergency room or ambulance service. During normal duty hours, patients with serious medical emergencies are provided the care necessary to allow them to be moved safely to the nearest civilian hospital emergency room by civilian ambulance. Outside normal duty hours, patients must get emergency care directly from a civilian hospital emergency room.

In most cases, TRICARE pays for care from civilian hospital emergency rooms for active duty Soldiers. Soldiers who get emergency medical care from civilian emergency rooms should report the visit the next workday to the clinic's appointments line at (404) 464-2778. Since some types of medical care and services are not authorized at government expense, active duty Soldiers should try to resolve any questions in advance with information from the health benefits advisor at (404) 464-0288 or (404) 464-0290.

TRICARE is the health care system used at Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem. For an explanation of TRICARE services and benefits, visit the Managed Care Office, located in Building 162 at Fort McPherson, call the Managed Care Office staff at (404) 464-0286 or (404) 464-0292, or visit the Atlanta TRICARE Service Center, also located in Building 162. Hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Customers also can reach the center by calling (800) 444-5445, or can visit the TRICARE Web site at www.tricare.osd.mil/.

The Lawrence Joel U.S. Army Health Clinic has a full-time health systems specialist (patient advocate) who can help ease difficulties accessing the medical care system, explain policies, find other sources of help and otherwise provide assistance to patients. For more information, call (404) 464-0401.

Active duty Soldiers have first priority in the military health care system, and the Lawrence Joel U.S. Army Health Clinic staff provides a full range of family medical care, including pediatrics and gynecology, to active duty Soldiers and their family members.

PCMs see active duty Soldiers and family members with scheduled appointments. Both same-day and advance appointments may be scheduled by calling (404) 464-2778.

Sections within the Lawrence Joel U.S. Army Health Clinic include drug and alcohol and mental health (both located in Building 167), allergy/immunizations, laboratory, optometry, physical examinations, physical therapy, preventive medicine, radiology, gynecology and pediatrics. If TRICARE Prime recipients require specialty care, appropriate referrals will be considered.

The Lawrence Joel U.S. Army Health Clinic staff provides a wide range of general and specialty outpatient services to infants, children and adults. The clinic has two primary care teams, each offering a variety of primary care services. Specialty services are provided in-house and by visiting providers. These services include immunizations and allergy, gynecology, pediatrics and internal medicine. The clinic has a health education nurse available for individual teaching as requested by patients or their provider. The physical examination section provides flight, Reserve Officer Training Corps, periodic, over-40, chapter, ETS and retirement physicals.

Georgia schools require each child to have certification of screening for eye, ear, dental and immunization status. These screenings are only a certification that no eye, ear, dental or immunization problems exist that would interfere with a child's ability to learn. If a problem is determined, it can be brought to the attention of a parent with the recommendation to seek care. Parents can request specific appointments for these screenings at (404) 464-2778.

The clinic staff also schedules open periods for school screening and sports physical appointments. Usually set for late summer, before school begins, designated times will be publicized in the Sentinel newspaper.

The Lawrence Joel U.S. Army Health Clinic staff provides outpatient pharmacy services to eligible beneficiaries.

The Main Pharmacy, located in Building 125 at Fort McPherson, is open Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. The Refill Pharmacy is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. and from 2 until 4:45 p.m. Both the clinics and the pharmacies are closed on federal holidays and designated training holidays.

The Main Pharmacy staff fills only new prescriptions. To fill a new prescription, a number system is in place to manage customers on a first-come, first-served basis, based on the origin of the prescription. Active duty personnel in uniform and patients seen in the clinic take the "in-house" numbers, while other customers take a "civilian prescription" number.

The Refill Pharmacy, located in Building 366 at Fort McPherson, provides only prescription refill services. The most efficient way to refill prescriptions is to use the call-in refill service at (404) 464-2165. Patients should keep track of the most current label to know how many refills are left (for example, one of three) and to provide the RX number needed for each prescription. Only numbers are used when calling in prescriptions. Prescriptions called in usually will be ready in one workday, although three to five workdays is possible.

Priority for refill prescriptions is given to customers using the call-in service.

Two other options available to TRICARE-eligible patients for filling prescriptions are the TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy (TMOP) and the Managed Care Retail Network pharmacies. The TMOP will provide up to a 90-day supply of medications for $3. The retail network fulfills more urgent needs, such as antibiotics, on a weekend. Costs are $3 and $9, respectively, for up to a 30-day supply. This process works like any other insurance. Patients must present the prescription and the TRICARE PRIME card at a participating pharmacy to have most prescriptions filled. Patients can call the Main Pharmacy at (404) 464-0304, the pharmacy secretary at (404) 464-0305 and the Main and Refill Pharmacy staffs at (404) 464-0306 and (404) 464-0307. Patients also can visit the pharmacy Web page at www.mcpherson.army.mil/clinic/pharmacy.htm.

The Lawrence Joel U.S. Army Dental Clinic, which is located on the second floor of the Lawrence Joel U.S. Army Health Clinic, provides a full range of dental treatment and services for active duty Soldiers. The dental clinic staff also can provide information on the United Concordia Family Member Dental Program and the Delta Dental Retiree Dental Program.

Clinic hours are Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. Sick call hours are Monday through Friday from 7:30 until 9:30 a.m. Dental examination hours are Monday through Friday from 7:30 until 11 a.m.

After-hour emergency treatment can be found at any dental facility that accepts TRICARE. For information or to make an appointment at the dental clinic, call (404) 464-0361 or (404) 464-0362.