WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) made a groundbreaking announcement recently, revealing significant reductions in wait times for new patient appointments in both primary care and mental health facilities across the VA care system.
As per the recent data, an 11% reduction in wait times for VA primary care appointments and a 7% decrease in mental health care wait times were recorded in April 2024 compared to the same month last year. This progress is a testament to VA’s dedication in discharging world-class care services to an increasing number of veterans.
The VA has been adamant about ensuring expedited and premier care for all Veterans. The trust and satisfaction level of Veterans in VA outpatient care is an all-time high at 91.8%. A surge in enrollment has also been observed with over 400,000 Veterans opting in for VA care over the past year, marking a 30% increase from last year.
Denis McDonough, VA Secretary, expressed his commitment to Veteran well-being stating, “We are deeply committed to serving our Veterans and making sure they receive the care we owe them in a timely fashion.” Reiterating the commitment, VA Under Secretary for Health, Shereef Elnahal, M.D. emphasized on reducing wait times even further, stating, “Our mission is transparency and earning the trust of Veterans. Every shortened wait time leads to improved life quality for our Veterans.”
Such encouraging progress comes subsequent to VA’s Access Sprints, an extensive effort to provide more facilities for night clinics, weekend clinics, and more available appointment slots during regular clinic hours. This endeavor witnessed an increase of 25,000 new patient appointments and a 12% reduction in new patients waiting for longer than the usual span for an appointment.
Simultaneously, VA continues to not only strive for better access to care but also to ensure the care Veterans receive is of the highest quality through continual scrutiny and improvements.
Under the PACT Act, VA has made remarkable improvements. This bipartisan legislation, signed into law by President Biden, has enabled the VA to expand VA health care and benefits to millions of Veterans. Along with that, the VA has also begun the most comprehensive outreach campaign in its history. VA has engaged Veterans, family members, caregivers, and survivors through more than 2,600 events since the enactment of the PACT Act, along with a nationwide advertising campaign and public service announcements.
The VA’s dedication to the health and well-being of the nation’s Veterans is unquestionable, and the improvements marked this year are just the beginning. It is clear that the VA is dedicated to continuous growth and prioritizing the health and satisfaction of our nation’s heroes.
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