Bill > S607

This bill requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and submit a comprehensive plan to improve the VA's healthcare appointment scheduling process within one year of the bill's enactment. The plan must address several key objectives, including developing a scheduling system that allows both VA personnel and patients to view available appointments across various care types (primary, mental health, and specialty care), creating a self-service scheduling platform that enables patients to view, schedule, cancel, and reschedule appointments, and establishing a process for patients to speak with schedulers who can assist with booking appointments. The bill mandates that the Secretary fully implement this plan within two years and submit progress reports to Congress at one-year and two-year intervals, detailing implementation costs, deployment schedules, achieved goals, and lessons learned. The plan must also be developed in coordination with the VA's Electronic Health Record Modernization Program. Importantly, the bill ensures that veterans can still schedule appointments through non-online methods if they prefer. The goal is to improve healthcare access, efficiency, and patient experience within the VA healthcare system by modernizing and streamlining the appointment scheduling process.

Military Affairs and Security

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/607/all-info