How often is family travel denied because the service member has a family member in the efmp? And if the doctor cleared the family member of the issue will it still pose as an issue to get approved famliy travel? I'm not sure how the program works when moving overseas...do they look at the medications that you are currently taking and base it of that or do they base it off what you have taken in the past?

Doesnt the base have to be EFMP supported? Is Yokosuka authorized? What bases are in Japan?

This is a great post Rae757. I have the same concern also. We are reporting to Atsugi in Sept/Oct. My son, who is a teenager now, has a history of seizures (the last one over 2 yrs ago) and migraines (occasionally). The only med his is on is for ADD. He has never been enrolled in the EFMP, but from what I have read, I will have to enroll him ONLY because he receives special education services at school, and I will have an IEP to transfer.

If anyone can shed some light on this subject, it will be very much appreciated! We have yet to go through all of our medical screenings. We were not going to enroll our son in the efmp, and are worried that if we have to do it for his school needs, then we may not qualify to travel.

Is there a directory to find out which bases are EFMP qualified (not sure if that is the right word).

I don't have experience with the military but this website looks very useful (It has EFMP info for each branch)
http://www.militaryhomefront.dod.mi...20.100.0.0

You will also need to consider the Schools at your new base and their level of support. I know there's a list of each DoDEA and what level of special needs they can accomodate but I can't remember where it's located online. I'm pretty sure the hospitals have a similar ranking.

It appears EFMP is a mandatory program all members enroll in. It may boil down to luck of the draw on your doctor approving travel and the powers that be agreeing with him. What the EFMP will do is assign the patient a sort of risk number. Each base will have a corresponding number which tells how severe of a pre-existing condition it can handle. They will match the patients need with the bases facilities.

So say you have a kid with a profoud disability, requires a lot care. They most likely will not be sent to little po-dunk base Molesworth, England, but they could be sent to Lakenheath which has a much greater level of support. It doesn't even have to be a huge disability or illness. Something like asthma can determine where people are stationed. It's designed to pair families up with bases that will be suitable and be prepared to accomodate them if there is a life threatening situation. They don't want to send a kid who needs massive amounts of support in school off to a school that only has 6 classrooms.

Anyway, good luck to you all! I hope you get everything cleared without too much stress.

Oh, I would send your sons IEP off to the school and get a letter from them saying they can accommodate his IEP. It may be helpful to convince the red tape people if they have something like that from the school, it's worked for me in the past =)

There are quite a few bases in Japan but we are going to Camp Zama....I have been on there website and they do have an efmp but it doesn't go into detail about what services they offer. My doctor put on my paperwork that it was a single episode that has been resolved and needs no further attention....no meds...no therapy...which you would think they would just approve the travel but you never know with the Army...I'm just hoping for the best.

Dana what part of the military are you affliated with....because my husband is Army and even though I didn't want to be apart of the efmp the doctor said I had too because it was in my medical history and it hadn't been five years. If you know exactly where you are going maybe you can contact some people and ask them if the can accomodate your son.

My daughter has just been enrolled in the EFMP. She is almost two and we were advised by her doctors and her speech doctor to enroll her. She is in EDIS and EFMP. We had thought that it was going to pigeon hole us to a certin spot for my husbands ordes and limit us to certain areas. Boy were we wrong. The EFMP and EDIS opens doors to thing you never thoguth of. We a level to which means only certain overseas locations which is fine becuase we love yokosuka. The EFMP just makes sure the aera that you are going to had the doctors in the area that you will need or can get to in a timely manner. Just from what i have seen from being here in japan for a few years yokosuka has pretty much anythign you need.

My daughter has had unexplained sycope episodes. She did not have to be in EFMP. They did all sorts of test here in Japan(local hospital in Ebina- great facility), and also in the states. She has never needed medications and her last episode was about 2008. I think you will be fine here in Japan. You will find that if you need a Japanese hospital, language barrier aside, you will receive excellent care, a lot better than in the states.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your stories, it has helped to put my mind at ease! Rae757, my husband is in the Navy and we are heading to Atsugi. We should have our written orders by the end of the week and I can schedule our overseas screenings. All of my son's doctors and specialists are civilian at the Children's Hospital. Not sure how this screening works, do i need any onformation from them for the overseas screening doctor?

I'm a little late catching onto to this thread about EFMP and services but if anyone here has more questions please contact me. I'm the Division Head for EDIS and can direct you by name to the EFMP coordinator here at Camp Zama and also what school resources are available at either Zama or Atsugi as I cover both bases.