In a 3-page letter addressed to The Honorable Robert A. McDonald, Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, ACP's chair of its Medical Practice and Quality Committee provides:
- four "General Recommendations," which broadly address VHA policies that influence care delivery to all veterans receiving clinical care both within and outside the system - including policies related to the new legislation
- five "Act-Specific Recommendations," which are focused on the policies being developed and linked to the expanded private-option provision of the Veterans Access to Care Through Choice, Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014.
The recommendations are offered for consideration to help inform the requisite regulatory structure linked to recently passed legislation, which, among other provisions, significantly expands access to services provided by non-VHA physicians and other healthcare professionals for veterans who qualify based on length of wait-list time or distance from VHA facility.
ACP is the largest physician medical specialty society, and the second largest physician-membership organization, in the United States. ACP members include 141,000 internal medical physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illnesses.