OCTOBER 2025 |  Subscribe

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I N  T H I S  I S S U E

Get ready: More requests for Veterans’ medical documentation from VA

Why wait? Join EPS to schedule appointments in your system

Check CHAMPVA beneficiary’s eligibility without calling us 

Veteran Whole Health: Ask what matters to Veterans

• Opioid safety for Veterans with chronic pain (required)
  
  
• Preventing suicide through lethal means safety and safety planning (recommended)
  
  
• Skills training for evaluation and management of suicide (recommended)
  
  

• Suicide and Military Environmental Exposures: Addressing Suicide Risk and Chronic Pain
  
  
• 13th Annual Advanced Practice Providers Symposium Topics in Pharmacotherapy
  
  

• Complex Military Exposures Concerns and the Five Occupational Exposure Domains
  
  
• Introduction to Complementary and Integrative Health Approaches

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Get ready: More requests for Veterans’ medical documentation from VA

You may notice an increase in calls from VA requesting medical documentation following a Veteran’s appointment. VA medical center staff will now make three documented attempts to retrieve records within 90 days of the appointment completion date. Providing Veterans’ medical documentation back to VA is required. Your timely response helps avoid delays in care coordination and ensures Veterans’ records are complete and accurate. To support this effort, VA’s third-party administrators will also be kept informed to help identify and address any ongoing documentation challenges. These efforts are part of a broader VA initiative to ensure timely, complete documentation for every community care appointment. We appreciate your continued partnership in delivering timely, high-quality care for those who served.

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Why wait? Join EPS now to let VA schedulers directly make appointments in your system

Just imagine it: VA schedules a community care appointment in your system electronically — no more back-and-forth phone calls about availability and preferred times; it’s just done. External Provider Scheduling (EPS) is now the best way to schedule community care appointments for Veterans, and it’s rolling out nationwide. Make life easier for your team, Veterans, and VA by joining EPS today. Unlike traditional methods that require multiple phone calls to confirm your availability and match Veteran preferences, booking an appointment in EPS can take as little as seven minutes — and it includes the authorized referral number. Benefits of EPS: Streamlined coordination. EPS enables VA schedulers to book directly into your system in real-time — reducing the number of phone calls and faxes. No new systems. EPS integrates with 150-plus electronic health records and scheduling systems. Referral confirmation. EPS-scheduled appointments include the authorized referral number. Full control. EPS keeps you in full control of your schedule — you choose which appointment slots to share with VA. Join Today. Email EPSProviderEngagementTeam@va.gov for more information. Our team will guide you through setup and answer any questions you may have. To learn more, visit Community Care External Provider Scheduling on VA.gov.

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Check CHAMPVA beneficiary’s eligibility without having to call us

If you provide care to patients covered by the Civilian Health and Medical Program of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA), there’s a fast way to verify their eligibility. Instead of calling the CHAMPVA customer service center, you can use your electronic data interchange system. By connecting through VA’s clearinghouse, Change Healthcare Optum, or another clearinghouse of your choice, you can submit an eligibility and benefit inquiry using the 270 transaction. VA’s real-time payer ID is VAHAC. Using electronic eligibility checks also gives you access to helpful details such as the patient’s remaining deductible and out-of-pocket maximum. This saves you time and reduces administrative costs. Resource: CHAMPVA – Information for Providers

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Ask Veterans what matters to them

As a provider, you’re trained to ask, “What’s the matter?” Instead, we invite you to also ask: “What matters to you?” That simple shift in perspective is at the heart of VA’s Whole Health approach. Whole Health encourages you to look beyond symptoms and diagnoses to understand what truly motivates the Veterans you care for, allowing them to take more control over their health outcomes.

Introduce Veterans to tools like the Personal Health Inventory, a guided self-reflection that helps them identify their health goals and life aspirations. They can also download the Live Whole Health app, a free, easy-to-use resource that supports daily wellness practices, or  connect with a Whole Health coach at their local VA facility.

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C O R E   T R A I N I N G

Opioid safety for Veterans with chronic pain (required)

Program description: This required course promotes evidence-based techniques to improve patient outcomes for Veterans with chronic pain and decrease complications associated with opioid prescribing. The web-based training is suitable for pharmacy professionals, physicians, and other clinicians.

Location: VHA TRAIN
Credit/hours: 1 (one)

Preventing suicide through lethal means safety and safety planning (recommended)

Program description: This recommended course provides lethal-means safety training and resources for mental health and suicide prevention clinicians. The web-based training is suitable for mental health professionals, physicians, and nurses.

Location: VHA TRAIN
Credit/hours: 1(one
Accreditations: APA, ACCME, ACCME-NP, ANCC, APA, NBCC, ASWB, JA IPCE, NYSED SW

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E D U C A T I O N   &   T R A I N I N G

Suicide and Military Environmental Exposures: Addressing Suicide Risk and Chronic Pain

Program description: This training will present the results of a recent pilot study examining problem-solving therapy as a treatment to reduce suicide risk among Veterans with chronic pain and military exposure concerns. It is suitable for physicians, nurses, mental health professionals, social workers, pharmacy professionals, and other health care professionals.

Location: VHA TRAIN
Date: Oct. 21 — noon ET
Credit/hours: One (1) 
Accreditations: ACCME, ACCME-NP, ACPE, ANCC, AOTA, APA, ASWB, JA IPCE, NBCC, NYSED PW, NYSEDP

13th Annual Advanced Practice Providers Symposium Topics in Pharmacotherapy

Program description: This training will equip clinical professionals with the knowledge to improve access and quality of care for Veterans. It aims to inform provider decision-making regarding pharmacotherapeutic interventions, best practices and updates. It is suitable for physicians, nurses, pharmacy professionals, and other health care professionals.

Location: VHA TRAIN
Date: Nov. 8 — 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET
Credit/hours: Eight (8)
Accreditations: AAPA, ACCME, ACCME-NP, ACPE, APA, JA IPCE

Complex Military Exposures Concerns and the Five Occupational Exposure Domains

Program description: This training will focus on chemical and physical hazards experienced by service members, illustrated through complex Veteran exposure case studies. It aims to increase provider knowledge about complex military-related environmental and occupational exposures. It is suitable for physicians, nurses, clinicians, social workers and other health care professionals.

Location: VHA TRAIN
Date: Dec. 9 — noon ET
Credit/hours: One (1)
Accreditations: AAPA, ACCME, ACCME-NP, ACPE, ANCC, AOTA, APA, ASWB, JA IPCE, NBCC, NYSED SW, NYSEDP (CECH)

Introduction to Complementary and Integrative Health Approaches

Program description: Whole Health focuses on each Veteran as an individual and a whole person. This course explores complementary approaches, such as reflecting on and learning how to talk with your patients. It is suitable for physicians, nurses, clinicians, and other health care professionals.

Location: VHA TRAIN
Credit/hours: One (1)
Accreditations: ACCME, ACCME-NP, ANCC, NBHWC

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COMMUNITY PROVIDERS: Thank you for all you do to support Veterans.

R E S O U R C E S

• Provider Website  
• Community Care Network 
• Urgent Care - Information for providers 
• Emergency Care - Information for providers 

Contact the National Call Center at 877-881-7618 for provider process questions.

Questions on this bulletin? Email us at VHA_IVC_Strategic_Communications@va.gov.