Time is Running Out: TRICARE Online Patient Portal Deactivation
UPDATE: Time is running out for veterans and family members to download their legacy medical records from the old TRICARE system before it is deactivated in favor of the DoD’s replacement, MHS GENESIS. If you have electronic medical records in the TRICARE system you must download them by 1 April 2025 to avoid losing access to those records when MHS GENESIS takes over.
MHS GENESIS is the replacement federal electronic health record system for service members and their families. It was intended to replace the legacy system in use for decades before the transfer to GENESIS in 2025.
An article by the Military Officers Association of America notes that the system was approved in 2018, but technical issues marred the rollout of MHS GENESIS.
MHS GENESIS is the New Online Patient Portal
When the medical records overhaul project was suspended in 2024, there was talk of canceling it altogether. Since then, the technical issues have been dealt with, and the rollout of GENESIS moved ahead.
The DoD calls MHS GENESIS a “single health record for service members, veterans, and their families”. It is meant to replace the TRICARE system, which is no longer accessible after April 1, 2025. “All military hospitals and clinics have transitioned to MHS GENESIS. We encourage you to take these important steps to save your personal health records before the TOL Patient Portal decommissions…”
You cannot access your healthcare information via TRICARE Online after that date.
Read next: TRICARE Benefits Guide
What To Know About the Transfer to MHS Genesis
If you get most care at military hospitals or clinics, you’ll have a DoD MHS GENESIS electronic health record. Download this record before the 1 April 2025 deadline.
TRICARE.mil states, “If you retired or separated after Jan. 1, 2014, paper copies of your Service Treatment Records (STRs) were digitized following your retirement or separation from the Armed Forces.”
Furthermore, “If your STRs don’t contain information classified as sensitive, they’ll be available via your Patient Portal, either MHS GENESIS or TRICARE Online.” Download these from TRICARE Online before 1 April 2025.
TRICARE.mil says, “You may access your historical health records on TOL until April 1, 2025,” noting that new health records “will be available on the MHS GENSIS Patient Portal.”
Do you need a complete copy of your health record? Submit a Request Pertaining to Military Records (SF 180) to the organization as identified on the form. Requests can also be made to your last home military hospital or clinic in person.
Read next: TRICARE Benefits Guide
What Happens to My Medical Records?
TRICARE.mil’s press release notes, “Your records won’t transfer to MHS GENESIS once TOL decommissions.” Additionally:
- Your TRICARE Online (TOL) health records only shows “when your military hospital or clinic was using TOL”.
- If you moved from one duty station to another, and one military hospital or clinic used TOL and the other MHS GENESIS, your records in MHS GENESIS may have gaps. You may find these in the TOL Patient Portal. Download them.
- You can only download your records from the past 30 years.
- Your primary care provider will continue accessing your complete health records.
Download Personal Health Information
If you need to download health data from your DoD electronic health record if you meet the following requirements:
- You are treated primarily at military hospitals and clinics
- You have registered on the MHS GENESIS Patient Portal
- You’re a registered user of the TRICARE Online (TOL) Patient Portal
Premium Access is required to view your health records on GENESIS.
Do you need access to your historical health information from the TRICARE Online Patient Portal? Log in before April 1, 2025, to retrieve your data.
Veteran beware! You may encounter sites claiming to be the MHS GENESIS Patient Portal. If the site you are looking at is not a .mil domain, it is NOT the MHS GENESIS official site.
Read next: TRICARE Benefits Guide
About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
