VA appointments changed
By From staff reports
Published in News on September 19, 2016 9:53 AM
FAYETTEVILLE -- Veterans receiving care at Fayetteville VA Medical Center can make appointments with their local VA audiology and optometry clinics without seeing their VA primary care physician first. The direct scheduling initiative is a major change in the way VA does business because, previously, enrolled veterans had to visit their primary care physician for a referral even if they had no other health care issues.
The improvement idea is a result of employee recommendations during interviews conducted across the country that the process change would save time for veterans and free up primary care clinical appointments. Research confirmed that valuable primary care access was being used for routine audiology and optometry referrals.
This change is part of a nationwide VA rollout of direct scheduling to audiology and optometry clinics, which VA expects to complete by the end of the year. The Fayetteville VAMC participated in the first phase of the rollout.
"We are honored to be a leader in this effort," said Fayetteville VA clinic Director Elizabeth Goolsby. "The direct scheduling program affirms the medical center's commitment to fostering a veteran-centric culture of care which honors veterans' service and empowers veterans to achieve optimum health and well-being."
For more information on audiology and optometry direct scheduling at the Fayetteville VA Health Care Center, veterans should call 910-475-6026. For direct scheduling appointment requests at the Wilmington HCC, veterans should call the audiology clinic at 910-353-4300 and choose option 5 and the optometry clinic at 910-353-4300 and select option 7.