,i  #aadth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dceb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,january #h1 #bjaf   
,mr4 ,moulton 7for himself and ,mrs4    
,mc,morris ,rodgers7 introduced the     
following bill2 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 system1 and 
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,faster  
,care for ,veterans ,act of #bjaf4  #b4 
,findings ,congress finds the following3
  7#a7 ,in ,june #bjad an internal audit
 conducted by the ,department of        
,veterans ,affairs found more than      
#abj1jjj veterans waited at least #ij   
days for appointments for medical care  
or never received appointments4  7#b7   
,one year later1 and despite handling   
more appointments than in previous      
years1 reports indicate that the number 
of veterans waiting #cj days or more for

 medical care has increased by #ej      
percent4  7#c7 ,in #bjjh1 the ,inspector
 ,general of the ,department estimated  
that #ah percent of outpatient          
appointment slots went unfilled because 
of patient no-shows or because facility 
personnel did not refill canceled       
appointments4  7#d7 ,wait times are not 
unique to the ,department of ,veterans  
,affairs4 ,the average wait time in the 
private sector is more than #ah days1   
but private sector hospitals and health 
systems are now leveraging technology to
 eliminate wait times and ensure every  
available appointment is used4  7#e7 ,in
 ,june #bjae the ,institute of ,medicine
 called for a patient-oriented          
scheduling platform that allows patients
 to self-schedule care online at any    
time4  #c4 ,pilot program establishing a
 patient self-scheduling appointment    
system  7a7 ,pilot program ,not later   
than #abj days after the date of the    
enactment of this ,act1 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 ,affairs4  7b7 ,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 7a74  7c7 ,contracts  7#a7   
,authority ,the ,secretary shall seek to
 enter into a contract with one or more 
contractors to provide the scheduling   
capability described in subsection 7a74 
7#b7 ,notice of competition ,not later  
than #fj days after the date of the     
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
shall issue a request for proposals for 
the contract described in paragraph     
7#a74 ,such request shall be full and   
open to any contractor that is able to  
meet the criteria under paragraph 7#c74 
7#c7 ,selection of vendors ,not later   
than #abj days after the date of the    
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  

shall award a contract with one or more 
contractors that have an existing       
commercially available online patient   
self-scheduling capability that--  7,a7 
allows patients to self-schedule1       
confirm1 and modify outpatient and      
specialty care appointments in real time
 through an ,internet website2  7,b7    
makes available1 in real time1 any      
appointments that were previously filled
 but later canceled by other patients2  
and  7,c7 allows patients to use the    
online scheduling capability #bd hours a
 day1 seven days a week4  7#d7          
,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    
,department4  7d7 ,duration of pilot    
program  7#a7 ,in general ,except as    
provided by paragraph 7#b71 the         

,secretary shall carry out the pilot    
program under subsection 7a7 for an     
#ah-month period4  7#b7 ,extension ,the 
,secretary may extend the duration of   
the pilot program under subsection 7a71 
and may expand the selection of         
,veterans ,integrated ,services         
,networks under subsection 7b71 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 filled4  7e7 ,report ,not    
later than one year after commencing the
 pilot program under subsection 7a71 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 program1 including--  7#a7 whether
 the pilot program demonstrated-- 7,a7  
improvements to the ability of veterans 
to schedule medical appointments2 and   
7,b7 a reduction in wait times for such 
medical appointments2 and  7#b7 any     

recommendations of the ,secretary for   
expanding the pilot program to          
additional ,veterans ,integrated        
,services ,networks4  7f7 ,use of funds 
otherwise appropriated ,no additional   
funds are authorized to be appropriated 
to carry out the pilot program under    
subsection 7a7 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                
,administration4