,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #aac  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,january #ab1       
#bjag,mr4 ,heller 7for himself and ,mr4 
,tester7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs  ,a  
,,bill  ,to require the ,secretary of   
,veterans ,affairs to carry out a pilot 
program to increase the use of medical  
scribes to maximize the efficiency of   
physicians at medical facilities of the 
,department of ,veterans ,affairs4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,maximizing ,efficiency and         
,improving ,access to ,providers at the 
,department of ,veterans ,affairs ,act4 
#b4 ,pilot program on increasing the use
 of medical scribes to maximize the     
efficiency of physicians at medical     
facilities of the ,department of        
,veterans ,affairs  7a7 ,in general     
,commencing not later than #abj days    
after the date of the enactment of the  
,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans       

,affairs shall carry out a pilot program
 to increase the use of medical scribes 
to maximize the efficiency of physicians
 at medical facilities of the           
,department of ,veterans ,affairs4  7b7 
,duration ,the ,secretary shall carry   
out the pilot program during the        
#ah-month period beginning on the date  
of the commencement of the pilot        
program4  7c7 ,locations ,the ,secretary
 shall carry out the pilot program at   
not fewer than five medical facilities  
of the ,department--  7#a7 at which the 
,secretary has determined there is a    
high volume of patients2 or  7#b7 that  
are located in rural areas and at which 
the ,secretary has determined there is a
 shortage of physicians and each        
physician has a high caseload4  7d7     
,contracts  7#a7 ,in general ,in        
carrying out the pilot program1 the     
,secretary shall enter into a contract  
with one or more appropriate            
nongovernmental entities described in   
paragraph 7#b74  7#b7 ,appropriate      

nongovernmental entities described ,an  
appropriate nongovernmental entity      
described in this paragraph is an entity
 that trains and employs professional   
medical scribes who specialize in the   
collection of medical data and data     
entry into electronic health records4   
7e7 ,collection of data  7#a7 ,in       
general ,the ,secretary shall collect   
data on the pilot program to determine  
the effectiveness of the pilot program  
in increasing the efficiency of         
physicians at medical facilities of the 
,department4  7#b7 ,elements ,the data  
collected under paragraph 7#a7 shall    
include the following with respect to   
each medical facility participating in  
the pilot program3  7,a7 ,the average   
wait time for a veteran to receive care 
from a physician at such medical        
facility before implementation of the   
pilot program4  7,b7 ,the average wait  
time for a veteran to receive care from 
such a physician after implementation of
 the pilot program4  7,c7 ,the average  

number of patients that such a physician
 is able to see on a daily basis before 
implementation of the pilot program4    
7,d7 ,the average number of patients    
that such a physician is able to see on 
a daily basis after implementation of   
the pilot program4  7,e7 ,the average   
amount of time such a physician spends  
on documentation on a daily basis before
 implementation of the pilot program4   
7,f7 ,the average amount of time such a 
physician spends on documentation on a  
daily basis after implementation of the 
pilot program4  7,g7 ,the satisfaction  
and retention scores of each such       
physician before implementation of the  
pilot program4  7,h7 ,the satisfaction  
and retention scores of each such       
physician after implementation of the   
pilot program4  7,i7 ,the patient       
satisfaction scores for each such       
physician before implementation of the  
pilot program4  7,j7 ,the patient       
satisfaction scores for each such       
physician after implementation of the   

pilot program4  7,k7 ,the patient       
satisfaction scores for their health    
care experience before implementation of
 the pilot program4  7,l7 ,the patient  
satisfaction scores for their health    
care experience after implementation of 
the pilot program4  7f7 ,report  7#a7   
,in general ,not later than #ahj days   
after the commencement of the pilot     
program1 and not less frequently than   
once every #ahj days thereafter for the 
duration of the pilot program1 the      
,secretary shall submit to ,congress a  
report on the pilot program4  7#b7      
,elements ,each report required by      
paragraph 7#a7 shall include the        
following3  7,a7 ,the number of medical 
facilities of the ,department that are  
participating in the pilot program4     
7,b7 ,with respect to each such medical 
facility1 an assessment of the effects  
that participation in the pilot program 
has had on the following3  7i7          
,maximizing the efficiency of physicians
 at such medical facility4  7ii7        

,reducing average wait times for        
appointments4  7iii7 ,improving access  
of patients to electronic medical       
records4  7iv7 ,mitigating physician    
shortages by increasing the productivity
 of physicians4  7,c7 ,all data         
collected under subsection 7e74  7,d7   
,such recommendations as the ,secretary 
may have with respect to the extension  
or expansion of the pilot program4  7g7 
,medical scribe defined ,in this        
section1 the term medical scribe means a
 member of the medical team hired and   
trained specifically and exclusively to 
perform documentation in an electronic  
health record to maximize the           
productivity of a physician4