Navy Care offers an innovative way for patients to see the doctor and maintain medical readiness, without actually visiting the hospital or clinic.

Navy Care enables patients to have a live, virtual visit with a clinician, using a smartphone, tablet, or computer. Patients can use it from work, home, or anywhere that offers privacy. It’s private, secure, and free. Most importantly, it decreases time away from the mission, work, and family.

“Navy Care brings medical appointments straight to the pier or hangar, supporting medical readiness,” said Capt. Teresa Allen, Naval Hospital Jacksonville commander and Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Jacksonville commanding officer. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has enabled our patients to have virtual health visits.”

NH Jacksonville launched Navy Care as a Navy Medicine pilot program in January 2018.

Patient enrollment has tripled this year, from about 7,000 enrollees in February to over 22,000 enrollees today. Use of Navy Care has increased seven-fold during the pandemic, from about 480 visits per month in March to 3,475 visits per month in June.

Navy Care earned a 2020 FedHealthIT Innovation Award, for taking achievable risks and delivering results in support of the command’s mission; and a 2020 Pandemic Activation & Acceleration Award from Amwell, for optimizing the use of virtual visits during the pandemic.

Lt. Cameron Henry at Naval Station Mayport recently had his first Navy Care visit. “I was experiencing pain in my heel that was not only distracting, but made it hard to walk,” said Henry. “I didn’t want to take time off, use sick call, and then sit at the clinic. It took me 30 seconds to download Navy Care on my phone. Within five minutes, I had connected with a flight surgeon. She examined my heel, diagnosed the problem, and prescribed an antibiotic. I did this all from my office, which not only saved me time, but kept me out of the clinic. I will continue to use Navy Care for future appointments.”

Active duty, families, and retirees with a primary care manager at NH Jacksonville (or its branch health clinics in Albany, Jacksonville, Key West, Kings Bay, or Mayport) can enroll. Register by visiting https://Navy.Care or by downloading the Navy Care app (available for free, for iOS and Android operating systems).

Patients can make a Navy Care appointment by calling their clinic’s appointment line. Or, patients can virtually “walk-in” to Navy Care On Demand, by visiting the website or app (on weekdays during business hours), selecting a waiting room, and selecting a provider.

Naval Hospital Jacksonville and Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Jacksonville deliver quality health care, in an integrated system of readiness and health. As the Jacksonville Market, NH Jacksonville and its five branch health clinics serve 163,000 active duty, family members, and retired service members, including 75,000 patients who are enrolled with a primary care manager. NMRTC Jacksonville (and its five units) ensures warfighters’ medical readiness to deploy and clinicians’ readiness to save lives.