Authors
Stroupe, Kevin T.Martinez, Rachael
Hogan, Timothy P.
Gordon, Elisa J.
Gonzalez, Beverly
Kale, Ibuola
Osteen, Chad
Tarlov, Elizabeth
Weaver, Frances M.
Hynes, Denise M.
Smith, Bridget M.
UMass Chan Affiliations
Division of Health Informatics and Implementation Science, Population and Quantitative Health SciencesDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2019-08-06Keywords
Veteransaccess to care
evaluation
qualitative research
Community Health and Preventive Medicine
Health Services Administration
Health Services Research
Insurance
Military and Veterans Studies
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
BACKGROUND: To address concerns about Veterans' access to care at US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare facilities, the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act was enacted to facilitate Veterans' access to care in non-VA settings, resulting in the "Veterans Choice Program" (VCP). OBJECTIVES: To assess the characteristics of Veterans who used or planned to use the VCP, reasons for using or planning to use the VCP, and experiences with the VCP. DESIGN: Mixed-methods. SUBJECTS: After sampling Veterans in the Midwest census region receiving care at VA healthcare facilities, we included 4521 Veterans in the analyses. Of these, 60 Veterans participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews. APPROACH: Quantitative data were derived from VA's administrative and clinical data and a survey of Veterans including Veteran characteristics and self-reported use of VCP. Associations between Veterans' characteristics and use or planned use of the VCP were assessed using logistic regression analysis. Interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis. KEY RESULTS: Veterans with a higher odds of reporting use or intended use of the VCP were women, lived further distances from VA facilities, or had worse health status than other Veterans (P < /= 0.01). Key themes included positive experiences with the VCP (timeliness of care, location of care, access to services, scheduling improvements, and coverage of services), and negative experiences with the VCP (complicated scheduling processes, inconveniently located appointments, delays securing appointments, billing confusion, and communication breakdowns). DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that Veterans value access to care close to their home and care that addresses the needs of women and Veterans with poor health status. The Mission Act was passed in June 2018 to restructure the VCP and consolidate community care into a single program, continuing VA's commitment to support access to community care into the future.Source
J Gen Intern Med. 2019 Aug 6. doi: 10.1007/s11606-019-05224-y. [Epub ahead of print] Link to article on publisher's site
DOI
10.1007/s11606-019-05224-yPermanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/46824PubMed ID
31388916Related Resources
Rights
© Society for General Internal Medicine (This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply) 2019ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1007/s11606-019-05224-y