VA Medical Centers across the country have established Referral Coordination Teams (RCTs) to speed the referral and appointment process for veterans seeking care, whether the health care provider is within the VA system or the local community.
In response to the pandemic crisis and an expected surge in demand for service later in 2021 (as more and more veterans are vaccinated), teams are designed to do three healthcare functions:
Provide information about available options for appointments, including face-to-face, virtual care, or telehealthcare (telephone appointments);
Result in faster appointments, even when referring to outside specialists; and
Offer veterans greater choice for direct care from the VA or in their communities.
The VA was an early adopter of telehealth at the outset of the pandemic, which substantially increased video visits by 1,700 percent within the fiscal year 2020 (equivalent to approximately 160,000 video visits in one week).
The video visits remained a small but significant part of VA care throughout the year. With increased safety measures to minimize exposure, the VA completed in excess of 66 million veteran visits during the year. This included in-person, telephone, and video options. In addition, the VA has administered more than 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to veterans, families, employees, and federal partners.
At the same time, millions of appointments were canceled during 2020. Expecting a surge in service requests through the end of 2021, the RCTs were tasked to expedite the appointment process. The VA recently hired more than 86,000 employees since the end of March 2020, including 18,000 registered nurses and nurse practitioners, to help meet the health care needs of veterans.