Autism Care Demonstration: Providing Email Addresses for Scheduling Medical Team Conferences

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Health Net Federal Services, LLC (HNFS) appreciates your participation providing health care services to beneficiaries in the TRICARE West Region. Under TRICARE’s Autism Care Demonstration (ACD), medical team conferences (MTCs) are a vital part of the care beneficiaries diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) receive. TRICARE requires a minimum of three qualified health care professionals, or QHPs, from different specialties or disciplines to participate in an MTC. Because slots in these providers’ calendars quickly become unavailable, Autism Services Navigators (ASNs) can have a difficult time scheduling an MTC when requests for the participants’ contact information (such as direct email addresses or phone numbers) are not acknowledged or the information not provided.

Providing Autism Services Navigators with direct email addresses

All beneficiaries in the ACD are approved for one MTC per authorized treatment period. When a beneficiary has an assigned ASN, the assigned health care advocates who help families navigate the ACD, the ASN coordinates, schedules and attends the MTC. ASNs frequently need to reach out to get QHP contact information from their staff for MTC scheduling purposes. When requests for direct email addresses for ASD-diagnosing or referring providers and PCMs are denied or refused, scheduling may be delayed and possibly negatively impact beneficiary care.   

Help improve beneficiary outcomes

If you are asked by an ASN to provide a direct email address for a QHP in your practice, we appreciate your cooperation in providing this information. When providers collaborate during MTCs, patient health care outcomes can improve. 

Visit our ACD provider page for more information on the ACD and MTCs.