FALLS CHURCH, Va. - The Defense Health Agency has launched a new feature that lets you request prescription refills through MHS GENESIS. MHS GENESIS is the Department of Defense's new electronic health record. It's now in use at every military hospital and clinic worldwide.

Prescription refills through the MHS GENESIS Patient Portal became available on Feb. 29. In the first week, the Military Health System processed nearly 30,000 refills using the portal request.

This new capacity within MHS GENESIS is something that was desired by beneficiaries," said U.S. Public Health Service Lt. Cmdr. Minh Doan, patient portal solution owner for the DHA. "It is another tool for beneficiaries to manage their own health care."

You can now easily refill your prescriptions by selecting the "Rx Refills" tab in the upper right panel on the portal's homepage.

Through your MHS GENESIS Patient Portal, you'll be able to:

• See all your prescriptions that are available to be refilled.
• Choose which ones you want refilled.
• Choose where you want to pick up the refill.
• See when your prescriptions are ready to be picked up.

This is an example of how the DHA is working to meet the patient where they are to make health care access more convenient," Doan added.

This new feature applies to existing prescriptions that have remaining refills, said U.S. Navy Capt. Angie Klinski, deputy chief, MHS GENESIS pharmacy solution owner.

According to Klinski, the system determines a prescription is ready to be refilled when you've completed 75% of the previous fill. Your prescriptions won't be eligible for refill before that time.

You need a renewal when your prescription has no refills left, or has expired, and you still need the medication. You can use the MHS GENESIS secure messaging feature to request a renewal. You may also need to talk to your provider first before you can renew your prescription.

To access the MHS GENESIS Patient Portal, visit https://patientportal.mhsgenesis.health.mil.

To read frequently asked questions on using the refill feature, visit MHS GENESIS Prescription Refills.