Sec. 3. CAPABILITIES OF PATIENT SELF-SCHEDULING APPOINTMENT SYSTEM

661 words·~3 min read·/statute-compilations/comps-13001/sec-3

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## SEC. 3 CAPABILITIES OF PATIENT SELF-SCHEDULING APPOINTMENT SYSTEM ###

(a)Minimum Capabilities The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that the patient self-scheduling appointment system used in the pilot program under section 2, and any other patient self-scheduling appointment system developed or used by the Department of Veterans Affairs, includes, at a minimum, the following capabilities: ####

(1)Capability to schedule, modify, and cancel appointments for primary care, specialty care, and mental health. ####

(2)Capability to support appointments for the provision of health care regardless of whether such care is provided in person or through telehealth services. ####

(3)Capability to view appointment availability in real time. ####

(4)Capability to make available, in real time, appointments that were previously filled but later cancelled by other patients. ####

(5)Capability to provide prompts or reminders to veterans to schedule follow-up appointments. ####

(6)Capability to be used 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. ####

(7)Capability to integrate with the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture of the Department, or such successor information technology system. ###

(b)Independent Validation and Verification ####

(1)Independent entity #####

(A)The Secretary shall seek to enter into an agreement with an appropriate non-governmental, not-for-profit entity with expertise in health information technology to independently validate and verify that the patient self-scheduling appointment system used in the pilot program under section 2, and any other patient self-scheduling appointment system developed or used by the Department of Veterans Affairs, includes the capabilities specified in subsection (a). #####

(B)Each independent validation and verification conducted under subparagraph

(A)shall be completed as follows: ######

(i)With respect to the validation and verification of the patient self-scheduling appointment system used in the pilot program under section 2, by not later than 60 days after the date on which such pilot program commences. ######

(ii)With respect to any other patient self-scheduling appointment system developed or used by the Department of Veterans Affairs, by not later than 60 days after the date on which such system is deployed, regardless of whether such deployment is on a limited basis, but not including any deployments for testing purposes. ####

(2)GAO evaluation #####

(A)The Comptroller General of the United States shall evaluate each validation and verification conducted under paragraph (1). #####

(B)Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Comptroller General completes an evaluation under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on such evaluation. #####

(C)In this paragraph, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means— ######

(i)the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate; and ######

(ii)the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate. ###

(c)Certification ####

(1)Capabilities included Not later than December 31, 2017, the Secretary shall certify to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate that the patient self-scheduling appointment system used in the pilot program under section 2, and any other patient self-scheduling appointment system developed or used by the Department of Veterans Affairs as of the date of the certification, includes the capabilities specified in subsection (a). ####

(2)New systems If the Secretary develops or begins using a new patient self-scheduling appointment system that is not covered by a certification made under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall certify to such committees that such new system includes the capabilities specified in subsection

(a)by not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary determines to replace the previous patient self-scheduling appointment system. ####

(3)Effect of capabilities not included If the Secretary does not make a timely certification under paragraph

(1)or paragraph (2), the Secretary shall replace any patient self-scheduling appointment system developed by the Secretary that is in use with a commercially available, off-the-shelf online patient self-scheduling system that includes the capabilities specified in subsection (a).