This legislation mandates the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit a comprehensive plan within one year to enhance the process for scheduling health care appointments. The plan is designed to benefit both veterans seeking care and Department employees responsible for scheduling, focusing on improving delivery, access, customer experience, and efficiency. Key objectives of the plan include developing a unified scheduling system for personnel and patients to view available appointments across all care types, and creating a self-service scheduling platform allowing veterans to fully book, cancel, or reschedule appointments, including a referral request process. Additionally, it requires establishing a telephonic option for veterans to speak directly with a scheduler. The Secretary must fully implement this plan within two years of its submission, coordinating efforts with the Electronic Health Record Modernization Program and providing regular progress reports to Congress, while ensuring veterans can still schedule appointments directly through non-online methods.
This legislation mandates the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit a comprehensive plan within one year to enhance the process for scheduling health care appointments. The plan is designed to benefit both veterans seeking care and Department employees responsible for scheduling, focusing on improving delivery, access, customer experience, and efficiency. Key objectives of the plan include developing a unified scheduling system for personnel and patients to view available appointments across all care types, and creating a self-service scheduling platform allowing veterans to fully book, cancel, or reschedule appointments, including a referral request process. Additionally, it requires establishing a telephonic option for veterans to speak directly with a scheduler. The Secretary must fully implement this plan within two years of its submission, coordinating efforts with the Electronic Health Record Modernization Program and providing regular progress reports to Congress, while ensuring veterans can still schedule appointments directly through non-online methods.