Improving Veteran Access to Care by Streamlining Scheduling | November 2025-American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy_Webinar Slides

American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy_Webinar Slides_Updated

Pdf Summary

The VA’s External Provider Scheduling (EPS) system is a transformative tool designed to enhance health care scheduling for Veterans by streamlining and integrating community care coordination. EPS enables VA schedulers to directly book appointments into external providers' systems, eliminating the need for multiple calls and faxes, while allowing providers to maintain full control over their schedules and availability. This approach has proven to reduce missed appointments ("no shows") and strengthen collaboration between the VA, Veterans, and providers.<br /><br />EPS supports seamless care coordination, including improved authorization processes and bi-directional information sharing, without imposing any costs on participating providers. The system integrates with over 150 existing provider systems, requiring no modifications on their part, which promotes wide adoption. The VA serves 9.1 million Veterans across 1,380 healthcare facilities, emphasizing the broad scope of this initiative.<br /><br />Over the past year, EPS has facilitated significant referral activity, particularly in Gastroenterology, with over 308,000 VA referrals and 150,000 specifically for gastrointestinal endoscopy. Key medical centers such as Marion, IL; Biloxi, MS; and Nashville, TN, report high referral volumes and active EPS use.<br /><br />Additional resources include live demos, discussions, and a dedicated contact point (EPSProvider@va.gov) for providers interested in participation or learning more. Interested parties can access further information through the VA website, or via a questionnaire available by scanning a QR code, promoting continued outreach and education.<br /><br />Overall, EPS reflects the VA’s commitment to honor Veterans by providing efficient, veteran-centric health care scheduling that improves well-being through enhanced community care partnerships.

Keywords

Veterans Affairs

External Provider Scheduling

EPS system

health care scheduling

community care coordination

VA schedulers

appointment booking

provider integration

no show reduction

gastroenterology referrals