S.Amdt. 4664

SA 4664. Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mrs. Ernst) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 2943, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle I of title X, add the following:

SEC. 1097. PILOT PROGRAM ESTABLISHING A PATIENT SELF-
SCHEDULING APPOINTMENT SYSTEM FOR THE
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

(a) Pilot Program.--Not later than 120 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall commence a pilot program under which veterans
use an Internet website to schedule and confirm appointments
for health care at medical facilities of the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
(b) Selection of Locations.--The Secretary shall select not
fewer than three Veterans Integrated Services Networks in
which to carry out the pilot program under subsection (a).
(c) Contracts.--
(1) Authority.--The Secretary shall seek to enter into a
contract with one or more contractors that are able to meet
the criteria under paragraph (3) to provide the scheduling
and confirmation capability described in subsection (a).
(2) Notice of competition.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a
request for proposals for the contract described in paragraph
(1).
(B) Open request.--The request for proposals issued under
subparagraph (A) shall be full and open to any contractor
that is able to meet the criteria under paragraph (3).
(3) Selection of vendors.--Not later than 120 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
enter into a contract with one or more contractors that have
an existing commercially available online patient self-
scheduling capability that--
(A) allows patients to self-schedule, confirm, and modify
outpatient and specialty care appointments in real time
through an Internet website;
(B) makes available, in real time, any appointments that
were previously filled but later canceled by other patients;
and
(C) allows patients to use the online scheduling capability
24 hours per day, seven days per week.
(4) Integration with existing infrastructure.--The
Secretary shall ensure that a contractor awarded a contract
under this section is able to integrate the online scheduling
capability of the contractor with the Veterans Health
Information Systems and Technology Architecture of the
Department.
(d) Duration of Pilot Program.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided by paragraph (2), the
Secretary shall carry out the pilot program under subsection
(a) during the 18-month period beginning on the commencement
of the pilot program.
(2) Extension.--The Secretary may extend the duration of
the pilot program under subsection (a), and may expand the
selection of Veterans Integrated Services Networks under
subsection (b), if the Secretary determines that the pilot
program is reducing the wait times of veterans seeking health
care from the Department and ensuring that more available
appointment times are filled.
(e) Report.--Not later than one year after commencing the
pilot program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall
submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate
and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives a report on the outcomes of the pilot
program, including--
(1) whether the pilot program demonstrated--
(A) improvements to the ability of veterans to schedule
appointments for the receipt of health care from the
Department; and
(B) a reduction in wait times for such appointments; and
(2) such recommendations for expanding the pilot program to
additional Veterans Integrated Services Networks as the
Secretary considers appropriate.
(f) Use of Amounts Otherwise Appropriated.--No additional
amounts are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the
pilot program under subsection (a) and such pilot program
shall be carried out using amounts otherwise made available
to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the medical support
and compliance account of the Veterans Health Administration.
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