When it comes to your health care, you’re in the driver’s seat—choosing where, when and how to connect with VA.
VA has made real progress in cutting appointment wait times and we’re working hard to make it easier to connect you with high-quality care when you need it. This means shorter wait times to get scheduled and more options for scheduling appointments that are most convenient for you.
Putting Veterans in the driver’s seat when making appointments
One way we are making this happen is through new technology that allows VA staff to book community care appointments directly into providers’ schedules—right when you are on the phone with us. No waiting, and no back and forth. Just real-time scheduling that gets you to the doctor faster.
Technology is propelling these improvements, but it’s the VA staff behind the scenes that make it happen when the rubber meets the road.
Take Rhonda Bentley, a supervisory program specialist at the Carl T. Hayden VA medical center in Phoenix. She’s a disabled Veteran and patient in Phoenix. She knows firsthand how important it is to get care without unnecessary delay. She is a driving force behind getting Veterans timely care.
“My goal is to make Veteran care better here in Phoenix, whether it’s getting them easier access, finding the correct providers, bringing the providers on that we need, [or] ensuring our staff is doing the correct processes,” she said when asked what fuels her. “But mainly, it’s to make the Phoenix VAMC a better place.”
Veterans are seeing the difference. Phoenix VA’s optometry team shared how the new scheduling platform is making life easier. One Veteran told Bentley, “Hey, I just made one phone call, and everything’s done. Wow! That’s great!”
This technology, called external provider scheduling, is up and running at 30 VA medical centers and is expected to be available nationwide this year.
Looking ahead, VA is working on a process that gives Veterans even more control—essentially giving you the keys to the car! Soon, you’ll be able to schedule your own community care appointments. The pilot program will start at VA medical centers in Marion, IL, and Salisbury, NC, this summer for the kick-off.
Running on all cylinders to bring timely care to Veterans
No matter where, when or how you choose to get your care, VA is committed to making sure you can connect with us directly to get timely, high-quality care. When you talk to us about your available in-person and telehealth options, you help steer us in the right direction. After all, you’re the one in the driver’s seat when it comes to your health care.
For more information, contact us at Ask VA.
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VA delivers the care you have earned—whenever and wherever you need it.
Has anybody noticed that recently almost all of the comments here are negative. Maybe the VA is not operating very well right now. A year ago I would have made a positive comment myself, now I don’t have anything positive to say, services that I have become used to being ready available are either pushed so far out that I try community and now having trouble accessing that. What kind of morons do we have running the show in our government?
The VA is under attack from DOGE and Elon Musk. And Mr Collins who is on board with their changes and dismissal of what they call non-essential personnel. There’s going to be thousands of people in the VA that will lose their job because of this. You say that phone calls will make it easier to get appointments at the VA. At the Texas VA Hospital in Dallas it is impossible to reach a clinic directly. All calls go to an answering service and then they relay a message to the clinic to make contact with me. It never happens they don’t call back. I don’t believe that Mr Collins has any concerns about efficient And Timely healthcare for veterans in desperate need. I have cancer and it took 60 days to get an appointment to address this problem. Depression and anxiety runs rampant because of the inability to get care in a timely manner. Mr Collins is in agreement with much of the changes that the DOGE wants to implement. The VA system will be destroyed as it now exist. Veterans will be the one to suffer. Veterans care should not be affected by political policy.
Well, here in Eugene, Oregon the wait for a PCP is a year. And, finding one through community care is hopeless. I’m 100% and I still have to use my Medicare PCP because her practice doesn’t take Tri West insurance.
I almost always find I can’t get an appointment for a particular malady for at least 2 to 3 weeks. I have the opportunity to go to community care because I’m 100% but then if referred to a local service the VA always wants to cover it in house. We have a local CBOC and when I got referred to a therapist for vertigo the local CBOC said they had a therapy dept and they would handle but they are not equipped to handle this problem and even the person in charge admitted so much yet the VA refuses to honor my referral. I have to go as far as paying for the service myself when my problem gets really bad which is not fair. The VA needs to step up and admit when their services are lacking so Veterans can get the care they need instead of being told to wait in line 3 weeks until the situation becomes unbearable and then the VA can’t really help with the problem anyway. You really want to know why the suicide rate among Veterans is increasing??? It’s because of this. We walk into ERs and Urgent Care facilities and see people on medicade or welfare being treated with our tax dollars and we the Veterans can’t even get the same care. At a point it becomes hopeless and a person begins to wonder if it’s all worth it. I am sick of living with pain and watching others be treated for the sniffles or something hardly life threatening and I can’t even get in to see someone!!! I wish we would have never been issued a CBOC because it’s just another stumbling block in a Veteran’s road to being treated.
I’m sorry if some of you have had bad experiences with VA &/or Community Care medical services . I can only speak for myself when I say I’ve had absolutely no problems with them. Here in southern Oklahoma they have always been excellent to quickly see to my needs. Thanks to all.
In Mississippi, the Sunny Montgomery Jackson VA is still not paying out Travel Pay to Veterans.
Recently learned about Benetravel. Primary care put in an order for me. Called VAMC close to me to confirm the order status. I was told that even though I’m 100% disabled, because I’m ambulatory I’m not eligible. I have a hernia that can’t be repaired yet because I’m getting chemotherapy. If it weren’t for the hernia, I’d transport myself even though oncology said I shouldn’t. My spouse has pain issues from a work accident years before we met, plus being double-dosed with Keytruda when undergoing her own cancer treatment, that rules her out from being my driver. Forget about Uber. Checked that out locally. Cost would be about $112.00 round trip. I seriously doubt the VA would reimburse that much. No relatives nearby that can lend support. The VA needs to relax their eligibility rules to allow for some flexibility where it concerns providing physical travel.
I have had the pleasure of meeting /working with Rhonda Bentley, and her dedication to the care and well-being of her fellow veterans and the community is readily apparent. Thank you for being a pillar of positivity and hope.
Hmmm. In Central Arkansas, I currently have a 108 day wait to see Primary Care, 70+ to see Endocrinology. When I ask for Community Care I keep getting told I don’t qualify…
I have no faith in Mr.Collins. Please remove him immediately.
Stop pushing just healthcare, please!!! VBA has effects on our health just as well!!
This is not at all true, stop telling these lies!! There is way more to problems at the VA than Healthcare, Benefits are a major problem as well. long delays bad decisions making, all have an effect on us the Veteran. Hope more cleanup inside the VA gets done. Even this new Sec of VA refuses to address benefits issues. He will NOT address all these issues we need resolved. He, like both Committees refuse to hear from us, the Veteran!!!
This is the real truth but they don’t want to hear that, just collect those paychecks and pay themselves on the back.