(WASHINGTON) – Last week, during a House Veteran Affairs Committee hearing, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced their intention to implement a modernized appointment scheduling system in Indiana VA health care facilities. VA clinics in Fort Wayne, Marion and Indianapolis will be some of the first sites to receive the upgrade (see chart below).
Rep. Jim Banks, who has fought to modernize the VA’s scheduling system as part of his role as the Ranking Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, applauded the VA’s announcement.
Banks said, “Under President Trump’s leadership, the VA is being equipped with 21st-century technology, and Indiana veterans will soon be closer to receiving the quality of service they deserve. This announcement is good news for veterans nationwide, but specifically veterans in Indiana.”
New scheduling software is planned to arrive at three Indiana facilities – the Marion VA Medical Center, Fort Wayne VA Medical Center and the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Administration Medical Center – in 2021. The VA plans for the software to be at all VA medical facilities by the calendar year 2024.
The VA expects the software to improve scheduling productivity by at least 50%. Full implementation could result in potential savings of $9.9 million per year.
Rep. Banks sent letters to VA leaders on December 14, 2018 and July 12, 2019 urging faster progress on the scheduling system and co-led a hearing on the issue on September 26, 2019.
