WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- Most military families have a primary care manager, but not everyone knows who qualifies as one.

TRICARE defines a primary care manager as "a civilian network provider or military treatment facility provider who provides primary care services to TRICARE beneficiaries."

Most families with TRICARE Prime or Prime Remote have a PCM. This is the person to run to for all non-emergency services.

A PCM may be a:

• Certified nurse midwife
  
• Family practitioner
  
• General practitioner
  
• Gynecologist
  
• Internal medicine physician
  
• Nurse practitioner
  
• Obstetrician 
  
• Pediatrician
  
• Physician assistant 

Either the beneficiary will choose or the military installation clinic will appoint a PCM to a family.

So, who to choose? A favorite gynecologist? A favorite pediatrician? 

A PCM may be a certified medical professional who practices within the state's rules and regulations and has signed a contract to be a TRICARE PCM. That could be anyone from a pediatrician to a nurse practitioner. Either way, the medical professional must be within the beneficiary's Prime Service Area.