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Summer 2026
(Pre-decisional)
Editor's Note: At the present time, we are limited in distribution to recipients with a “va.gov” email only. If you would like to add or update your contact information, please email us!
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ACCENT is a nationwide network of VA researchers and operations partners, fostering collaboration and knowledge diffusion in the areas of Access and Community Care among VA investigators, VA Operational Partners, VISN and VA facility leadership, and VA Health Systems Research to support and inform national priorities for achieving high-quality and timely access to care. ACCENT extends the work initiated by the Community Care Research Evaluation and Knowledge (CREEK) Center and the Veterans Access Research Consortium (VARC).
View the recording of the ACCENT CORE Cyberseminar (held February 12, 2024) Introducing the Access and Community Care Engagement Network Team (ACCENT).
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Interested in receiving the quarterly ACCENT CORE newsletter? Email us!
New research published or presented at a conference? Please let us know so we can share it with the community in our next newsletter.
If you have questions for the ACCENT data team, please reach out to them via email.
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Visit the ACCENT Website!
Check out the ACCENT website, where you will find funded projects, recently published papers, minutes from monthly calls with the VA Office of Integrated Veteran Care (IVC), information about using community care data captured in the Consolidated Data Set and Program Integrity Tool, and information about current access- and community care-related programs and projects.
ACCENT and the VA Office of Integrated Veteran Care (IVC) meet on the second Friday of the month, from 12:00PM–12:30 PM EST, to share current research findings with brief presentations from the field, obtain new information from IVC on relevant updates related to access and/or community care (e.g., TPA information on contracts, leadership changes, etc.), and any other items that are of interest that are relevant to the ACCENT network. Please email Valerie Marteeny to be added to the Teams meeting invite.
At the June 2026 meeting, Dr. Samantha Connolly presented Examining Community Care Telemental Health Utilization. You may also have information that you would like to share at these meetings. Please email Kristin Mattocks and Valerie Marteeny to secure a spot on the agenda or to share that information as a bulletin.
We encourage everyone to join these meetings to stay informed on emerging research and programmatic updates.
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As mandated by the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, the VA OIG initiated an audit in January 2025 to assess whether VA met established timeliness standards for processing consults for direct (VA-provided) and community care, in accordance with existing timeliness requirements under the MISSION Act and related regulations and guidance.
The OIG found that VHA did not consistently meet timeliness requirements during the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, the period of review. Fourteen percent of VA consults and 21 percent of community care consults were not sent to the receiving service within the standard of two business days; 45 percent of VA consults and 60 percent of community care consults did not meet, respectively, the three and seven day scheduling standards; and 51 percent of VA consults and 49 percent of community care consults did not meet timeliness standards for the time it took veterans to receive care.
Timeliness challenges were driven by process and system limitations affecting how VA and community care appointments are scheduled and managed. These issues align with long standing concerns about veterans’ access to health care and ongoing attention to MISSION Act compliance. VHA leaders confirmed the problems were still occurring as of October 2025 and that corrective efforts were underway but not yet resolved. The OIG’s follow-up analysis from November 2025 through January 2026 showed the same issues persisted.
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Active Projects Inventory
Check out the ACCENT Active Projects Inventory (Healthcare Access and Community Care Active Projects Inventory)!
This inventory is designed to help fellow researchers have a convenient way to view currently funded projects in access and community care and identify potential gaps in these research areas. You can easily search, filter on specific terms, and export your results.
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Highlighting Current Research
Emergency Care Exposes Vulnerabilities In Choice-Based Health Reform: Evidence From The VA
Authors: Vashi AA and Kizer KW
As the VA increasingly relies on community providers to expand Veterans’ access to care, emergency care offers a revealing test of how well choice-based reforms are working. Drawing on evidence from the VA, this article shows that without strong care coordination, information sharing, and accountability mechanisms, expanded choice can inadvertently fragment care and undermine outcomes, highlighting critical lessons for the future of Veteran-centered health system reform.
Health Affairs Forefront, May 21, 2026.
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Patient Preference for Telemedicine as an Alternative to In-person Community Care in the Veterans Health Administration.
Authors: Garvin LA, Harvey KL, McInnes DK, Zulman DM, Wray CM, Jacobs JC, Sista A, & Meterko M.
The purpose of this cross-sectional study, in the context rising costs, was to examine Veteran patient preferences for VA video visits versus in-person Community Care. Results showed that fully 44% of patients had either no preference (24%) or preferred a VA video visit (20%) over a community in-person visit in the future. Top reasons for preferring a VA video visit were: convenience, avoiding infection, shorter wait times, and VA care quality, further stratified across six clinical service areas. Two significant predictors of preference for VA video care were: (1) having a prior positive VA video visit experience and (2) having a prior negative community care referral and authorization experience. This study provides quantitative evidence suggesting that VA’s digital training and device access for Veterans’ positive telemedicine experience could encourage many patients among the millions referred to community care to stay with VA care.
Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, April 27, 2026.
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Chen, P. V., Walsh, J., Smith, A. H., Eck, C. S., Caloudas, A. B., Plasencia, M., Kanzler, K. E., & Grubbs, K. M. (2026). "Hit or Miss": Rural Veterans' Experiences Receiving Community Mental Health Care. The Journal of Rural Health 42(2), e70151. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41964331/
Davila, H., Good, M. K., Ball, D. D., Solimeo, S. L., Sullivan, J. L., Rudolph, J. L., Steffensmeier, K. S., Buchanan, C. H., Barron, M. L., Axon, R. N., Cooper, D., & Mengeling, M. A. (2026). Expanding Home- and Community-Based Service Access in the Veterans Health Administration. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 27(8), 106295. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42391756/
Davila, H., Hackert, D., DeVone, F., Halladay, C. W., Mengeling, M. A., Solimeo, S. L., Axon, R. N., Barron, M. L., Buchanan, C., Page, T., Cooper, D., Sullivan, J. L., & Rudolph, J. L. (2026). Rural-Urban Variability in Home and Community-Based Service Use Among Veterans. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 10.1111/jgs.70500. Advance online publication. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42269086/
Gould, C. E., Humber, M. B., Carlson, C., Trivedi, R. B., Lindsey, M. F., Lloyd, A., Paiko, L., & Peeples, A. D. (2026). A Roadmap for Implementing Virtual Geriatric Mental Health Services for Rural Veterans: Qualitative Longitudinal Evaluation. JMIR Aging 16:9, e95286. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42302264/
Griffin, A. C., Gray, C., Ngo, V., Chaudhary, C., Shimada, S. L., Midboe, A. M., & Zulman, D. M. (2026). Supporting Access to Care Through Peripheral Devices and Patient-Generated Health Data: Qualitative Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research 6:28, e88405. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41941724/
Hahn Z, Tyler B, Atwood C, Hotchkiss JR, Mayr FB. Post-Intensive Care Fragmentation Among Rural Veterans: Transitions Between VA and Community Health Systems. (2026). J Rural Health. Mar;42(2):e70174. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42233317/
Haun, J. N., Berumen, J., Heuer, J., Byrd, C., Diaz, N., McDaniel, J., Bolinski, R. S., & Pugh, M. J. (2026). Determinants of Wait Times in the Veterans Health Administration: Implications for Capacity Expansion and Workforce Optimization to Improve Access to Care. Health Services Research 61:3, e70128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42118599/
Hogan, T.P., Etingen, B., McMahon, N., Escudero, G., Calkins, S., Moussa, A., Slightam, C., Zulman, D., Shimada, S.L., Robinson, S.A., Zocchi, M.S., Shah, N., Heyworth, L., Newton, T.J. Understanding the value of virtual care technologies: development of a framework in the Veterans Health Administration. Front Digit Health. 2026 May 21;8:1677472. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42255282/
Hung, A., Cleary, J., Lawrence, E. B., Goodwin, K., Berkowitz, T. S., Smith, V. A., Thorpe, C. T., Reed, S. D., Maciejewski, M. L., Crowley, M. J., Bryan, W. E., Erickson, R., Tharpe, K., McCathern, L., McNaughton, L., Upchurch, G., Cunningham, F., Kullgren, J. T., & Fagerlin, A. (2026). Development of a decision aid to help dually enrolled veterans make informed choices on medication sourcing. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy 32:5, 551–562. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42043925/
Jaske, E., Wheat, C. L., Nelson, K., Curtis, I., Wahlberg, L., & Felker, B. (2026). Veterans Affairs Clinical Resource Hub Improve Access to Mental Health Services for Rural Veterans. Telemedicine Journal and E-health. Jun 11:15305627261458161. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42273918/
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Kenneally, L., Riblet, N., Stevens, S., Gutierrez, K. K., Wyatt, D., Cornelius, S. L., Ley-Thomson, M., & Watts, B. V. (2026). Suicide Prevention RCT Pilot: Rural Veterans Receiving Mental Health Community Care. Rural Mental Health, 50(3), 132–145. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42266279/
Narla, R., McCoy, K., Mengeling, M. A., Davila, H., Wysham, K., Miller, K., & Solimeo, S. L. (2026). Who receives DXA in VHA direct care vs. community care? Insights into bone health care for veterans. Osteoporosis International. Advance online publication. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42012636/
Purcell, J.R., Perskaudas, R., Miller, R.B., et al. Bridging the Rural Mental Health Gap: Telehealth Delivery of Specialized CBT and MBCT for Veterans With Parkinson's Disease. J Rural Health. 2026;42(2):e70175. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42310995/
Ramachandran, A., Seidenfeld, J., Boothroyd, D., Asch, S. M., & Vashi, A. A. (2026). Refining a diagnostic code list to investigate low-acuity utilization by veterans. The American Journal of Managed Care 32(4), e118–e125. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42044399/
Rimmler-Cohen, S., Scilla, R., Adhikari, M., Davis, R., & Hawes, E. M. (2026). Health Resources and Services Administration and Veterans Affairs Funding Intersections Expand Graduate Medical Education Training Opportunities in Rural and Underserved Areas. The Journal of Rural Health 42(3), e70185. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42438404/
Rozema, L., Cornelius, S. L., Shiner, B., & Watts, B. V. (2026). Characteristics of Rural Veterans Using VA Video-to-Home Telehealth or Community Care Network for Mental Healthcare. Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice, 8(2), 63–71. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42281900/
Rozema, L., Cornelius, S. L., Shiner, B., & Watts, B. V. (2026). Receipt of psychotherapy following posttraumatic stress disorder diagnosis in veterans affairs and community settings. Psychological Services, May 7, Advance online publication. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42095854/
Shekelle, P. G., Burke, R. E., Apaydin, E. A., Begashaw, M. M., & Wray, C. M. (2026). Quality of hospital medicine care in Veterans Affairs hospitals versus non-Veterans Affairs hospitals: A systematic review of comparative studies. Journal of Hospital Medicine 21:7(792-800) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42144953/
Stein, R. I., Phelan, J., Frakt, A. B., Pizer, S. D., Garrido, M., Orav, E. J., Figueroa, J. F., & Tsai, T. C. (2026). Racial and ethnic disparities in GLP-1 prescriptions among veterans with obesity across direct and community care settings. Health Affairs Scholar, 4:6, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42305721/
Touchett, H. N., Arredondo, K., Salgado, B., Haltom, T. M., Day, S. C., Weyland, A., Grigoryan, L., Lindsay, J., Helmer, D. A., & Skelton, F. (2026). Exploring needs and perceptions about telemental healthcare among Veterans with spinal cord injuries, a qualitative study. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Advance online publication. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42008067/
Weber, M., Amspoker, A., Marchant-Miros, K., Day, G., Shore, J. Outcomes for implementation of virtual mental health care for rural native veterans. J Behav Med. 2026 May 13. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42126504/
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