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

<DOC>






114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4352

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 8, 2016

  Mr. Moulton (for himself and Mrs. McMorris Rodgers) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   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. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In June 2014 an internal audit conducted by the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs found more than 120,000 veterans 
        waited at least 90 days for appointments for medical care or 
        never received appointments.
            (2) One year later, and despite handling more appointments 
        than in previous years, reports indicate that the number of 
        veterans waiting 30 days or more for medical care has increased 
        by 50 percent.
            (3) In 2008, the Inspector General of the Department 
        estimated that 18 percent of outpatient appointment slots went 
        unfilled because of patient no-shows or because facility 
        personnel did not refill canceled appointments.
            (4) Wait times are not unique to the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs. The average wait time in the private sector is more 
        than 18 days, but private sector hospitals and health systems 
        are now leveraging technology to eliminate wait times and 
        ensure every available appointment is used.
            (5) In June 2015 the Institute of Medicine called for a 
        patient-oriented scheduling platform that allows patients to 
        self-schedule care online at any time.

SEC. 3. 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 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 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 is able to meet the criteria under paragraph 
        (3).
            (3) Selection of vendors.--Not later than 120 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
        award a contract with one or more contractors that have an 
        existing commercially available online patient self-scheduling 
        capability that--
                    (A) allows patients to self-schedule, confirm, and 
                modify outpatient and specialty care appointments in 
                real time through an Internet website;
                    (B) makes available, in real time, any appointments 
                that were previously filled but later canceled by other 
                patients; and
                    (C) allows patients to use the online scheduling 
                capability 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
            (4) Integration with existing infrastructure.--The 
        Secretary shall ensure that a contractor awarded a contract 
        under this section is able to integrate the online scheduling 
        capability of the contractor with the Veterans Health 
        Information Systems and Technology Architecture of the 
        Department.
    (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) Report.--Not later than one year after commencing the pilot 
program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the 
Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate a report on the outcomes of the pilot program, including--
            (1) whether the pilot program demonstrated--
                    (A) improvements to the ability of veterans to 
                schedule medical appointments; and
                    (B) a reduction in wait times for such medical 
                appointments; and
            (2) any recommendations of the Secretary for expanding the 
        pilot program to additional Veterans Integrated Services 
        Networks.
    (f) Use of Funds Otherwise Appropriated.--No additional funds are 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out the pilot program under 
subsection (a) and such pilot program shall be carried out using 
amounts otherwise made available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
for the medical support and compliance account of the Veterans Health 
Administration.
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