External Provider Scheduling (EPS) allows VA staff to schedule appointments directly into community providers’ scheduling grids. It saves time and eliminates back-and-forth between the provider, patient, and scheduler. It is now operational at 25 sites nationwide and expanding to more locations this year!

Facilities Operational with EPS
VISN 6: Asheville, N.C. | Durham, N.C. | Fayetteville, N.C. | Salisbury, N.C.

VISN 7: Atlanta, GA | Augusta, GA | Charleston, S.C. | Columbia, S.C.

VISN 19: Denver, CO | Ft. Harrison, MT

VISN 20: Portland, OR | Puget Sound, WA | Spokane, WA

VISN 22: Greater Los Angeles, CA | Loma Linda, CA | San Diego, CA | Phoenix, AZ

Other locations: Altoona, PA | Dallas, TX | Marion, Ill | Nashville, TN | New Orleans, LA | Omaha, NE | Orlando, FL | Wichita, KS

EPS has proven that it makes patient care and VA workflows with community providers more efficient. With over 4,000 active provider services, EPS has:

• Reduced the time between initial referrals and first scheduled appointments by over 36% compared to traditional scheduling.
• Enabled VA staff to book a higher volume of referrals per day, with the average scheduling time being around seven minutes.
• Onboarded over 500 provider services each month since October 2024.

VA staff love the ease of use and the availability of appointments, and Veterans have noticed the decreased wait times with appointments scheduled in EPS.

• “I’ve scheduled a lot of same day appointments with Veterans. They are genuinely happy to be scheduled so fast.” — Tyler Devlin, Advanced Medical Support Assistant, Spokane, Wash.
• “He was so ecstatic about it because he had been in pain, and he wanted to see someone. I was able to schedule him quickly using EPS while on the phone. He was so grateful he sent a letter informing our leadership [about] how grateful he was.” — Kortez Scott, Advanced Medical Support Assistant, Columbia, S.C.

We need you!

Your participation can help achieve faster, more efficient appointment bookings for Veterans. You can opt-in to EPS if you are local to sites where it is available.

To find out specific requirements to opt-in, email us at EPSProviderEngagementTeam@va.gov. 

Do you know a Veteran who could benefit from no-cost yoga classes? VA offers free online and in-person yoga classes and mindfulness training to Veterans across the country. VA hosts these classes through a partnership with Veterans Yoga Project, Inc.

The classes provide a no-cost opportunity to Veterans seeking to improve their mental, physical, and emotional health through yoga and mindfulness practices.

VA and Veterans Yoga Project are working together to make more Veterans aware of the benefits of yoga. This partnership also provides local VA medical centers with opportunities to connect with Veterans Yoga Project instructors to provide yoga classes and mindful resilience training to Veterans, either in-person or virtually through VA-approved telehealth platforms.

In 2023, Veterans Yoga Project reported that 75% of Veterans who took part in their programs felt less distress and 72% saw a reduction in pain.

You can read more on the VA News website.