Patient appointment information is obtained from the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture Scheduling module. The Patient Appointment Information application gathers appointment data to be loaded into a national database for statistical reporting. Patient appointments are scanned from September 1, 2002 to the present, and appointment data meeting specified criteria are transmitted to the Austin Information Technology Center Patient Appointment Information Transmission (PAIT) national database. Subsequent transmissions (bi-monthly) update PAIT bi-monthly via Health Level Seven message transmissions through Vitria Interface Engine (VIE) connections. A Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) program in Austin utilizes PAIT data to create a bi-monthly SAS dataset on the Austin mainframe. This additional data is used to supplement the existing Clinic Appointment Wait Time and Clinic Utilization extracts created by the Veterans Health Administration Support Service Center (VSSC).

VA is posting regular data updates showing progress on its efforts to accelerate access to quality health care for Veterans who have been waiting for appointments. These access data updates will be posted at the middle and end of each month at VA.gov. The facility-level data show the current status of VA's: 1) New Enrollee Appointment Request (NEAR) List: The total number of newly enrolled Veterans that have asked for an appointment during the enrollment process. Out of an abundance of caution, VA reviewed the NEAR data from the past decade to identify any individual who: has enrolled for care since the inception of enrollment, indicated they desired an appointment on the enrollment form, and has not yet had a scheduled appointment in the VHA health care system. 2) Electronic Wait List (EWL) Count: The total number of all new patients (those who have not been seen in the specific clinic in the previous 24 months) for whom appointments cannot be scheduled in 90 days or less; and 3) Total Appointments Scheduled: Every appointment scheduled at the facility except surgery and medical procedures.

VA is posting regular data updates showing progress on its efforts to accelerate access to quality health care for Veterans who have been waiting for appointments. These access data updates will be posted at the middle and end of each month at VA.gov. The facility-level data show the current status of VA's: 1) New Enrollee Appointment Request (NEAR) List: The total number of newly enrolled Veterans that have asked for an appointment during the enrollment process. Out of an abundance of caution, VA reviewed the NEAR data from the past decade to identify any individual who: has enrolled for care since the inception of enrollment, indicated they desired an appointment on the enrollment form, and has not yet had a scheduled appointment in the VHA health care system. 2) Electronic Wait List (EWL) Count: The total number of all new patients (those who have not been seen in the specific clinic in the previous 24 months) for whom appointments cannot be scheduled in 90 days or less; and 3) Total Appointments Scheduled: Every appointment scheduled at the facility except surgery and medical procedures. The term 'pending' has replaced the term 'prospective,' which predicts the availability of scheduled appointments in the future for new Veterans on a given date, and the term 'completed' replaced the term 'retrospective,' which indicates when appointments actually occurred.

VA is posting regular data updates showing progress on its efforts to accelerate access to quality health care for Veterans who have been waiting for appointments. These access data updates will be posted at the middle and end of each month at VA.gov. The facility-level data show the current status of VA's: 1) New Enrollee Appointment Request (NEAR) List: The total number of newly enrolled Veterans that have asked for an appointment during the enrollment process. Out of an abundance of caution, VA reviewed the NEAR data from the past decade to identify any individual who: has enrolled for care since the inception of enrollment, indicated they desired an appointment on the enrollment form, and has not yet had a scheduled appointment in the VHA health care system. 2) Electronic Wait List (EWL) Count: The total number of all new patients (those who have not been seen in the specific clinic in the previous 24 months) for whom appointments cannot be scheduled in 90 days or less; and 3) Total Appointments Scheduled: Every appointment scheduled at the facility except surgery and medical procedures.

VA is posting regular data updates showing progress on its efforts to accelerate access to quality health care for Veterans who have been waiting for appointments. These access data updates will be posted at the middle and end of each month at VA.gov. The facility-level data show the current status of VA's: 1) New Enrollee Appointment Request (NEAR) List: The total number of newly enrolled Veterans that have asked for an appointment during the enrollment process. Out of an abundance of caution, VA reviewed the NEAR data from the past decade to identify any individual who: has enrolled for care since the inception of enrollment, indicated they desired an appointment on the enrollment form, and has not yet had a scheduled appointment in the VHA health care system. 2) Electronic Wait List (EWL) Count: The total number of all new patients (those who have not been seen in the specific clinic in the previous 24 months) for whom appointments cannot be scheduled in 90 days or less; and 3) Total Appointments Scheduled: Every appointment scheduled at the facility except surgery and medical procedures.

VA is posting regular data updates showing progress on its efforts to accelerate access to quality health care for Veterans who have been waiting for appointments. These access data updates will be posted at the middle and end of each month at VA.gov. The facility-level data show the current status of VA's: 1) New Enrollee Appointment Request (NEAR) List: The total number of newly enrolled Veterans that have asked for an appointment during the enrollment process. Out of an abundance of caution, VA reviewed the NEAR data from the past decade to identify any individual who: has enrolled for care since the inception of enrollment, indicated they desired an appointment on the enrollment form, and has not yet had a scheduled appointment in the VHA health care system. 2) Electronic Wait List (EWL) Count: The total number of all new patients (those who have not been seen in the specific clinic in the previous 24 months) for whom appointments cannot be scheduled in 90 days or less; and 3) Total Appointments Scheduled: Every appointment scheduled at the facility except surgery and medical procedures.

VA is posting regular data updates showing progress on its efforts to accelerate access to quality health care for Veterans who have been waiting for appointments. These access data updates will be posted at the middle and end of each month at VA.gov. The facility-level data show the current status of VA's: 1) New Enrollee Appointment Request (NEAR) List: The total number of newly enrolled Veterans that have asked for an appointment during the enrollment process. Out of an abundance of caution, VA reviewed the NEAR data from the past decade to identify any individual who: has enrolled for care since the inception of enrollment, indicated they desired an appointment on the enrollment form, and has not yet had a scheduled appointment in the VHA health care system. 2) Electronic Wait List (EWL) Count: The total number of all new patients (those who have not been seen in the specific clinic in the previous 24 months) for whom appointments cannot be scheduled in 90 days or less; and 3) Total Appointments Scheduled: Every appointment scheduled at the facility except surgery and medical procedures.

VA is posting regular data updates showing progress on its efforts to accelerate access to quality health care for Veterans who have been waiting for appointments. These access data updates will be posted at the middle and end of each month at VA.gov. The facility-level data show the current status of VA's: 1) New Enrollee Appointment Request (NEAR) List: The total number of newly enrolled Veterans that have asked for an appointment during the enrollment process. Out of an abundance of caution, VA reviewed the NEAR data from the past decade to identify any individual who: has enrolled for care since the inception of enrollment, indicated they desired an appointment on the enrollment form, and has not yet had a scheduled appointment in the VHA health care system. 2) Electronic Wait List (EWL) Count: The total number of all new patients (those who have not been seen in the specific clinic in the previous 24 months) for whom appointments cannot be scheduled in 90 days or less; and 3) Total Appointments Scheduled: Every appointment scheduled at the facility except surgery and medical procedures. The term 'pending' has replaced the term 'prospective,' which predicts the availability of scheduled appointments in the future for new Veterans on a given date, and the term 'completed' replaced the term 'retrospective,' which indicates when appointments actually occurred.

VA is posting regular data updates showing progress on its efforts to accelerate access to quality health care for Veterans who have been waiting for appointments. These access data updates will be posted at the middle and end of each month at VA.gov. The facility-level data show the current status of VA's: 1) New Enrollee Appointment Request (NEAR) List: The total number of newly enrolled Veterans that have asked for an appointment during the enrollment process. Out of an abundance of caution, VA reviewed the NEAR data from the past decade to identify any individual who: has enrolled for care since the inception of enrollment, indicated they desired an appointment on the enrollment form, and has not yet had a scheduled appointment in the VHA health care system. 2) Electronic Wait List (EWL) Count: The total number of all new patients (those who have not been seen in the specific clinic in the previous 24 months) for whom appointments cannot be scheduled in 90 days or less; and 3) Total Appointments Scheduled: Every appointment scheduled at the facility except surgery and medical procedures. The term 'pending' has replaced the term 'prospective,' which predicts the availability of scheduled appointments in the future for new Veterans on a given date, and the term 'completed' replaced the term 'retrospective,' which indicates when appointments actually occurred.

On Wednesday, May 21, 2014, VA launched the Accelerating Access to Care Initiative, a nation-wide program to ensure timely access to care. As directed by President Obama, VHA has identified Veterans across the system experiencing waits that do not meet Veterans expectations for timeliness. VA has begun contacting and scheduling all Veterans who are waiting for care in VA clinics or arranging for care in the community, while simultaneously addressing the underlying issues that impede Veterans’ access.The nationwide Access Audit covered a total of 731 separate points of access, and involved over 3,772 interviews of clinical and administrative staff involved in the scheduling process at VA Medical Centers (VAMC), large Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) serving at least 10,000 Veterans and a sampling of smaller clinics. A complete list of VISN facilities with components reviewed as part of the Access Audit is included in this package