Military Health System

That applies to kids aged 13 to 17.

But the military is updating its electronic health record system, MHS Genesis, to let minors opt into letting their parents see their files.

That change is expected to be in place by the end of November.

Rachel Cohen, Federal News Network.

So one thing to start with, just so your audience is super clear, there are really two healthcare systems that take care of the military and the veterans, and they're separate and distinct.

So military health system is active duty military and their family members, retirees, which are folks with 20-plus years of service, and that's one entire system of healthcare, and then there's another entire system of healthcare that's the Veterans Healthcare Administration.

So we have opportunities, I would say, in both to improve access to care, improve the healthcare that the men and women who serve and have served our nation are getting, and Jim and I would be more than happy to talk about that.

But wanted to level set there so we can talk about both systems together, however we wanna go.

And when they've-- encounter these problems, do they know what to do? Is there anything that they can do?

Both systems are very complex.

Both the military health system and the VA health system obviously have their own healthcare facilities and physicians, nurses, et cetera, so both populations can receive their healthcare in the direct care system.

So that's either the military treatment facilities on the military health side or the veteran clinics and hospitals on the VA side.

Tricare warned that systems relying on DEERS could also be affected.

MHS Genesis remains available, but some functions may be limited or unavailable.

Beneficiaries cannot rely on the outage as a reason to postpone urgent care.

If a pharmacy or provider cannot confirm eligibility electronically, retirees and families should retain receipts and documentation and follow the instructions supplied by the provider or their TRICARE contractor.