US Congress Senate Bill 113 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: Introduced on January 12 2017 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2017-01-12 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Pending: Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Maximizing Efficiency and Improving Access to Providers at the Department of Veterans Affairs Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out an 18-month pilot program to increase the use of medical scribes to maximize the efficiency of physicians at VA medical facilities. A "medical scribe" is defined as a member of the medical team hired and trained to perform documentation in an electronic health record to maximize the productivity of a physician. The program shall be conducted at not fewer than five medical facilities that: (1) have a high volume of patients; or (2) are in rural areas where there is a shortage of physicians and where each physician has a high caseload. To carry out such program, the VA shall enter into a contract with one or more nongovernmental entities that train and employ professional medical scribes who specialize in the collection of medical data and data entry into electronic health records. The VA shall collect data to determine the effectiveness of the program, including information on changes in the average wait times for veterans to receive care, the average number of patients that a physician is able to see, the average amount of time such a physician spends on documentation, physician satisfaction and retention scores, and patient satisfaction scores.

Maximizing Efficiency and Improving Access to Providers at the Department of Veterans Affairs Act

Sen. Dean Heller [R-NV]

Sen. Jon Tester [D-MT]

Date	Chamber	Action
2017-01-12	Senate	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

SB2193 (Related) 2018-03-07 - By Senator Isakson from Committee on Veterans' Affairs filed written report. Report No. 115-212.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/113/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/s113/BILLS-115s113is.pdf