,,ii  #aadth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #cjdc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #i1      
#bjaf,ms4 ,klobuchar 7for herself and   
,mrs4 ,ernst7 introduced the following  
bill2 which was read twice and 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 #bjad1 an internal     
audit conducted by the ,department of   
,veterans ,affairs found more than      
#abj1jjj veterans waited at least #ij   
days for appointments for health care or
 never received appointments4  7#b7 ,one
 year following such audit1 and despite 
the ,department handling more           
appointments than in previous years1    
reports indicate that the number of     

veterans waiting #cj days or more for   
health care increased by #ej percent4   
7#c7 ,in #bjjh1 the ,inspector ,general 
of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs
 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 that every        
available appointment is used4  7#e7 ,in
 ,june #bjae1 the ,institute of         
,medicine of the ,national ,academy of  
,sciences 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 appointments for health care at 
medical facilities of the ,department of
 ,veterans ,affairs4  7b7 ,selection of 
locations ,the ,secretary shall select  
not fewer 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 that are able to meet the   
criteria under paragraph 7#c7 to provide
 the scheduling and confirmation        
capability described in subsection 7a74 
7#b7 ,notice of competition  7,a7 ,in   
general ,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  7,b7 ,open request    

,the request for proposals issued under 
subparagraph 7,a7 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 enter into 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  
per day1 seven days per 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 during the 
#ah-month period beginning on the       
commencement of the pilot program4  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 health care   
from the ,department 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 ,committee on       

,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and  
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of
 the ,house of ,representatives 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 
appointments for the receipt of health  
care from the ,department2 and  7,b7 a  
reduction in wait times for such        
appointments2 and  7#b7 such            
recommendations for expanding the pilot 
program to additional ,veterans         
,integrated ,services ,networks as the  
,secretary considers appropriate4  7f7  
,use of amounts otherwise appropriated  
,no additional amounts 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