Help Expedite Radiology Services for Patients Referred by Military Providers
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Health Net Federal Services, LLC (HNFS) has noticed an increase in radiology providers requesting separate orders from military hospitals and clinics before rendering HNFS-approved radiology services to TRICARE patients. You can help expedite your patients’ access to care by cooperating with the following guidelines.
If the service was referred by a military hospital or clinic and approved by HNFS, HNFS’ approval letter will serve as the signed order.
Approval letters for TRICARE beneficiaries referred by military hospitals or clinics include an electronic signature from the referring military provider. Look for the text, “This Referral is Electronically Signed by the Ordering Provider” at the end of the “Reason for Request” paragraph found on the first page of the letter. There is no need to request additional orders from the referring facility. Keep in mind, the approval letters issued to beneficiaries look slightly different than those issued to providers. Be sure to refer to the letter faxed to you by HNFS. You can access copies of approval letters through our secure Authorization Status tool (log in required).
Contact the requesting military provider if you need additional clinical information; contact HNFS if we authorized services, and you want to request changes.
Each approval letter from HNFS includes contact information for the requesting provider. If additional clinical information is needed, you may contact the requesting provider. Certain changes to authorizations may be requested online, or you may contact HNFS’ customer service line. We recommend you request changes within 30 days of an approval to help expedite care. Note: If you need to add services/codes, please submit a new request rather than submitting a change request form.
Return test results/clinically appropriate reports to referring military facilities within seven days.
For patients referred by military hospitals or clinics, be sure to return test results and clinically appropriate consultation reports, also called patient encounter reports or clear and legible reports (CLRs), to the referring military facility within seven days of rendering services. Look for the confidential CLR fax number provided in HNFS’ approval letters. We also post a CLR Fax Matrix on our website.
