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VA New England Healthcare System

 

Veterans' Healthy Living, Fall 2014

VHL Fall 2014 cover
Print | Web

How is VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS) increasing access to quality care for Veterans?

Here are examples of the outstanding work being conducted at VA Boston Healthcare System:

Additional staffing:

  • Leadership approved 15 administrative positions to assist with scheduling and clinic management.
  • In response to the Gap analysis requested through the VISN, an additional 37.55 FTE for new positions were identified to assist further with reducing wait times and improving access.

Consult management:

  • VABHS has an Access and Consult Committee that meets weekly to focus on review of the volume of new and pending referrals to clinics and to work closely with services to ensure compliance with the consult management business rules.

Increased auditing and review of scheduling practices:

  • By the end of July, the Director will have met with schedulers from 20 VABHS clinics, including all CBOCs.

Increasing clinical space and capacity:

  • At all three campuses, we are examining the clinical space and improving clinic operations to allow the services to maximize efficient use of space and expand clinic hours. Insufficient space remains a limiting factor.

Extended hours:

  • All three campuses offer extended hours in the evenings, early mornings, and Saturdays for mental health and primary care clinics. As backlogs arise in other subspecialty clinics, Saturday clinics are sometimes used to reduce patient wait times.

New enrollees and the Vesting Clinic:

  • VABHS developed and implemented a new clinic that provides a brief but comprehensive general medical exam for new patients to VABHS. This clinic reduced the wait time significantly for new patients waiting for specialty care.
  • VABHS staff from the Eligibility Department and the Vesting Clinic collaborate closely to manage the new enrollees requesting appointments. Once a patient is deemed eligible to receive services, the Vesting Clinic calls and triages all new patients from the New Enrollee Appointments Request (NEAR) list into the Vesting Clinic or primary care.

Leadership involvement:

  • There is a daily Access Huddle discussion among leadership in which the status of actions and improvements around access to are are discussed.
  • Various stakeholder meetings have been held, which include briefings with congressional representatives, Veterans Service Organizations, Veterans Service Agents, and of course, employee Town Halls.

Medical provider taking a patient's pulse

How is Providence VAMC increasing access to quality care for Veterans?

Here are examples of the outstanding work being conducted Providence VAMC:

  • We added fee basis physicians to Hyannis CBOC to reduce wait times.
  • We are in various stages of recruitment for two PACT Teams.
  • A new provider began this month in Providence.
  • Recruiting for additional ENT and Dermatology staff is ongoing.
  • The part-time neurologist was increased to full time.
  • We added 117 clinics throughout the medical center.
  • Providence VAMC now offers extended hours.
  • We conduct “stand down” days wherein only new patients are seen.
  • Six rooms are dedicated to CVT to increase services to CBOC.
  • Permitted services to directly replace vice vacancies decreasing recruitment wait times.
  • Expanding the physical footprint of CBOCs is occurring (under construction).
  • Expand CVT use.
  • We are continuing recruitment efforts for key positions.
  • We are exploring additional space options.
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