[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4352 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4352

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot 
program establishing a patient self-scheduling appointment system, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Faster Care for Veterans Act of 
2016''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ESTABLISHING A PATIENT SELF-SCHEDULING 
              APPOINTMENT SYSTEM.

    (a) Pilot Program.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall commence 
a pilot program under which veterans use an Internet website or mobile 
application to schedule and confirm medical appointments at medical 
facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    (b) Selection of Locations.--The Secretary shall select not less 
than three Veterans Integrated Services Networks in which to carry out 
the pilot program under subsection (a).
    (c) Contracts.--
            (1) Authority.--The Secretary shall seek to enter into a 
        contract using competitive procedures with one or more 
        contractors to provide the scheduling capability described in 
        subsection (a).
            (2) Notice of competition.--Not later than 60 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
        issue a request for proposals for the contract described in 
        paragraph (1). Such request shall be full and open to any 
        contractor that has an existing commercially available, off-
        the-shelf online patient self-scheduling system that includes 
        the capabilities specified in section 3(a).
            (3) Selection.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall award a contract 
        to one or more contractors pursuant to the request for 
        proposals under paragraph (2).
    (d) Duration of Pilot Program.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided by paragraph (2), the 
        Secretary shall carry out the pilot program under subsection 
        (a) for an 18-month period.
            (2) Extension.--The Secretary may extend the duration of 
        the pilot program under subsection (a), and may expand the 
        selection of Veterans Integrated Services Networks under 
        subsection (b), if the Secretary determines that the pilot 
        program is reducing the wait times of veterans seeking medical 
        care and ensuring that more available appointment times are 
        filled.
    (e) Mobile Application Defined.--In this section, the term ``mobile 
application'' means a software program that runs on the operating 
system of a cellular telephone, tablet computer, or similar portable 
computing device that transmits data over a wireless connection.

SEC. 3. CAPABILITIES OF PATIENT SELF-SCHEDULING APPOINTMENT SYSTEM.

    (a) Minimum Capabilities.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
ensure that the patient self-scheduling appointment system used in the 
pilot program under section 2, and any other patient self-scheduling 
appointment system developed or used by the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, includes, at a minimum, the following capabilities:
            (1) Capability to schedule, modify, and cancel appointments 
        for primary care, specialty care, and mental health.
            (2) Capability to support appointments for the provision of 
        health care regardless of whether such care is provided in 
        person or through telehealth services.
            (3) Capability to view appointment availability in real 
        time.
            (4) Capability to make available, in real time, 
        appointments that were previously filled but later cancelled by 
        other patients.
            (5) Capability to provide prompts or reminders to veterans 
        to schedule follow-up appointments.
            (6) Capability to be used 24 hours per day, 7 days per 
        week.
            (7) Capability to integrate with the Veterans Health 
        Information Systems and Technology Architecture of the 
        Department, or such successor information technology system.
    (b) Independent Validation and Verification.--
            (1) Independent entity.--
                    (A) The Secretary shall seek to enter into an 
                agreement with an appropriate non-governmental, not-
                for-profit entity with expertise in health information 
                technology to independently validate and verify that 
                the patient self-scheduling appointment system used in 
                the pilot program under section 2, and any other 
                patient self-scheduling appointment system developed or 
                used by the Department of Veterans Affairs, includes 
                the capabilities specified in subsection (a).
                    (B) Each independent validation and verification 
                conducted under subparagraph (A) shall be completed as 
                follows:
                            (i) With respect to the validation and 
                        verification of the patient self-scheduling 
                        appointment system used in the pilot program 
                        under section 2, by not later than 60 days 
                        after the date on which such pilot program 
                        commences.
                            (ii) With respect to any other patient 
                        self-scheduling appointment system developed or 
                        used by the Department of Veterans Affairs, by 
                        not later than 60 days after the date on which 
                        such system is deployed, regardless of whether 
                        such deployment is on a limited basis, but not 
                        including any deployments for testing purposes.
            (2) GAO evaluation.--
                    (A) The Comptroller General of the United States 
                shall evaluate each validation and verification 
                conducted under paragraph (1).
                    (B) Not later than 30 days after the date on which 
                the Comptroller General completes an evaluation under 
                paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall submit to 
                the appropriate congressional committees a report on 
                such evaluation.
                    (C) In this paragraph, the term ``appropriate 
                congressional committees'' means--
                            (i) the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of 
                        the House of Representatives and the Senate; 
                        and
                            (ii) the Committees on Appropriations of 
                        the House of Representatives and the Senate.
    (c) Certification.--
            (1) Capabilities included.--Not later than December 31, 
        2017, the Secretary shall certify to the Committees on 
        Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
        Senate that the patient self-scheduling appointment system used 
        in the pilot program under section 2, and any other patient 
        self-scheduling appointment system developed or used by the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs as of the date of the 
        certification, includes the capabilities specified in 
        subsection (a).
            (2) New systems.--If the Secretary develops or begins using 
        a new patient self-scheduling appointment system that is not 
        covered by a certification made under paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary shall certify to such committees that such new system 
        includes the capabilities specified in subsection (a) by not 
        later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary 
        determines to replace the previous patient self-scheduling 
        appointment system.
            (3) Effect of capabilities not included.--If the Secretary 
        does not make a timely certification under paragraph (1) or 
        paragraph (2), the Secretary shall replace any patient self-
        scheduling appointment system developed by the Secretary that 
        is in use with a commercially available, off-the-shelf online 
        patient self-scheduling system that includes the capabilities 
        specified in subsection (a).

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON NEW APPROPRIATIONS.

    No additional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements of 
this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts 
otherwise authorized.

            Passed the House of Representatives December 6, 2016.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
114th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 4352

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot 
program establishing a patient self-scheduling appointment system, and 
                          for other purposes.