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TRICARE University Training and Curriculum DevelopmentTRICARE Management Activity (TMA) |
Challenge
Uniformed services personnel and family members can go to hundreds of military hospitals and clinics at military facilities around the world for healthcare. However, to ensure that all beneficiaries have convenient access to quality care, the Department of Defense (DoD) also contracts with a global network of civilian healthcare providers supervised by the department's TRICARE Management Activity (TMA). This network gives 9.2 million beneficiaries access to non-military hospitals, physicians, dentists, and pharmacists, making TRICARE the world's largest unified healthcare system.
The program has grown rapidly in recent years. Benefits have expanded, and new, more efficient business procedures have been instituted. But for the program to be successful, participants need to be able to contact knowledgeable benefits counselors and administrators for clear answers on such issues as coverage, reimbursements, and billing procedures. With an ongoing need to train benefits counselors and customer service representatives, TMA looked to Axiom's instructional designers for a complete overhaul of the TMA training materials.
Strategy
TMA traditionally trained its benefits counselors and customer service personnel at a central training facility. TRICARE would convene three or four training conferences a year where subject matter experts delivered presentations to as many as 100 students. The curricula offered basic and advanced courses on TRICARE benefits and business procedures. The content and format of the presentations were adequate for preparing the first generation of TRICARE benefits counselors, but as the program expanded, TMA asked Axiom staff to help audit the courses, review the curricula, and assess the effectiveness of the format. Axiom instructional designers recommended modifications to improve the effectiveness of the training, reduce DoD's training expenses, and strengthen the department's ability to respond to beneficiaries' needs. Our instructional designers completely redesigned the training program and created evaluation materials to assess performance improvements traceable to the redesigned curricula.
Impact
Working with a large, diverse team of government personnel and private contractors, Axiom helped TMA completely redesign the curricula for benefits counselors. Our instructional designers recommended classrooms of no more than 35 students with two instructors. Training sessions are now held at least once a year in TRICARE regions around the world. When the redesign is complete, TRICARE University will offer instruction at the introductory level for new TRICARE benefits counselors, at the intermediate level for counselors with at least one year of experience, and at the advanced level for benefits counselors with more than five years experience. The robust content, the smaller class size, and the interactive curricula allow instructors to focus more attention on each participant. All participants must pass a detailed examination to receive credit for completing the course, as well as an "end-of-course" evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the training and the ultimate impact of TMA's customer service.
Today, TRICARE University trains benefits counselors on its main campus, with extension courses in the TRICARE regions, and by distance learning with Internet-based courses.