Maximizing Efficiency and Improving Access to Providers at the Department of Veterans Affairs Act

Summary

Maximizing Efficiency and Improving Access to Providers at the Department of Veterans Affairs Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out an 18-month pilot program to increase the use of medical scribes to maximize the efficiency of physicians at VA medical facilities. A "medical scribe" is defined as a member of the medical team hired and trained to perform documentation in an electronic health record to maximize the productivity of a physician. The program shall be conducted at not fewer than five medical facilities that: (1) have a high volume of patients; or (2) are in rural areas where there is a shortage of physicians and where each physician has a high caseload. To carry out such program, the VA shall enter into a contract with one or more nongovernmental entities that train and employ professional medical scribes who specialize in the collection of medical data and data entry into electronic health records. The VA shall collect data to determine the effectiveness of the program, including information on changes in the average wait times for veterans to receive care, the average number of patients that a physician is able to see, the average amount of time such a physician spends on documentation, physician satisfaction and retention scores, and patient satisfaction scores.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

1. 12 January 2017

   Introduced

   Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

   Source: IntroReferral

2. 12 January 2017

   Introduced

   Introduced in Senate

   Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

• Introduced in Senate · 12 January 2017 · Official file

Documents

3 official files

• Introduced in Senate (text)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 12 January 2017

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in Senate (PDF)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 12 January 2017

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 12 January 2017

  Open at official source

Sponsors

• Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV] · R · Sponsor
• Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT] · D · Sponsor
• · ssva00 · Standing

Related records

• related to ← Caring for our Veterans Act of 2017
• related to ← Maximizing Efficiency and Improving Access to Providers at the Department of Veterans Affairs Act of 2016