Naval Hospital Jacksonville has launched a new service to make it easier for patients to cancel appointments in time to allow another patient to take their slot.

"An appointment missed by you is really missed by two," said Cmdr. Gerard White, NH Jacksonville's director of health care business. "This new phone reminder system makes it easier for patients to cancel their appointment in a timely manner to allow other patients to take their time slot. We also plan to launch a text reminder system in the coming months to allow patients to cancel or reschedule their appointment via their smart phone."

Patients at the hospital and its five branch health clinics receive an automated appointment-reminder phone call two days before their scheduled appointment. This reminder call now allows patients to cancel their appointment directly from the phone call's menu. Patients can also cancel or reschedule by calling the appointment line or using www.TRICAREonline.com.

Patients should cancel an appointment at least 24 hours in advance.

When you miss or are a "no-show" for a medical or dental appointment, it keeps another Sailor, Marine, family member, or retiree from using that appointment slot for the care they need, which also impacts the medical and dental readiness of the Navy fighting force.

When a patient does not cancel in time, or does not show up, the provider cannot shift the remaining appointments on that day to fill the void. The time slot goes unused and is wasted for the provider, staff, and another patient who could have used the appointment.

When a patient does not show up, it prevents another patient (who might have an urgent need) from being seen at that time.

Although some cancellations are inevitable, in the private sector - providers can sometimes charge a no-show fee (up to $50) for no-shows or cancellations made less than 24 hours in advance. While military treatment facilities does not function this way, no-shows do have a negative impact. Without advance notice, staff are unable to re-book no-shows, but operational expenses are still incurred.

Go to www.TRICAREonline.com (available 24/7), or respond to the reminder phone call, or call the appointment line (at the hospital: 904-542-4677, or at Branch Health Clinic Jacksonville: 904-546-7094), Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Naval Hospital Jacksonville's priority, since its founding in 1941, is to heal the nation's heroes and their families. The command is the Navy's third largest medical treatment facility - comprised of a hospital and five branch health clinics across Florida and Georgia. Of its patient population (163,000 active and retired Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, Guardsmen, and their families), about 84,000 are enrolled with a primary care manager and Medical Home Port team at one of its facilities. To find out more or download the command's mobile app, visit www.med.navy.mil/sites/navalhospitaljax.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Naval Hospital Jacksonville, visit www.navy.mil/.