CLINIC INTEGRATION
Leveraging integrated solutions & technology to drive clinic growth
Executive Summary
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is modernizing its healthcare delivery by opening new clinics designed to annually serve thousands of Veterans. These state-of-the-art facilities aim to expand access to care, improve patient outcomes, and meet the increasing demands of the Veteran population. To achieve these goals, however, the VA faces challenges, including providing high-quality care for a diverse patient base, engaging Veterans throughout their care journey, and reducing provider burnout caused by overwhelming administrative tasks.
DocMe360 is a trusted partner with extensive experience in VA healthcare solutions. Since 2018, we have supported multiple VA programs by leveraging technology to enhance access, experience, and outcomes for Veterans. We collaborate with leading third-party platforms—encompassing patient engagement, care coordination and scheduling, telehealth, and data analytics—to deliver a comprehensive solution for new VA clinics. This white paper outlines how our integrated technologies can streamline operations, drive tangible improvements in patient care, and alleviate the cognitive load on clinical staff. Additionally, we provide strategic recommendations for VA leadership and hospital administrators to implement these innovations successfully.
Leveraging the robust experience gained through solutions supported and developed by DocMe360—including VEText, Rideshare, Foodshare, and Clinical Decision Support Platform programs— this white paper outlines DocMe360’s top program and technology recommendations for new VA clinics to set the standard for operational excellence and superior patient care.
Start with Outcomes
Opening new VA clinics presents a unique opportunity to establish a new benchmark for healthcare delivery. The integrated technologies and solutions outlined in this paper are designed to address common challenges in care delivery and achieve significant improvements across both patient and financial outcomes. These outcomes include:
Enhanced Patient Access & Engagement
By reducing no-show rates, shortening wait times, increasing telehealth service usage, and improving patient satisfaction and adherence, these solutions make healthcare more accessible and engaging for Veterans.
Better Health Outcomes
Consistent, evidence-based care delivery can improve the management of chronic conditions, reduce avoidable hospitalizations, and minimize emergency room visits.
Reduced Provider Workload & Burnout
Automation streamlines administrative tasks, while integrated decision support reduces cognitive load, leading to better work-life balance for providers and higher job satisfaction.
Operational Efficiency & Cost Savings
Optimizing appointment utilization rates, accelerating referral processing, and utilizing data-driven resource allocation reduce costs and enhance operational efficiency.
Positioning for Success
The successful implementation of new technologies in VA clinics requires a strategic approach that not only addresses immediate operational needs but also positions the healthcare system for long-term success. By integrating patient engagement, streamlined workflows, telehealth capabilities, and data analytics, the VA can improve care delivery, enhance patient outcomes, and reduce the administrative burden on providers. With careful planning, effective collaboration, and a focus on continuous improvement, these integrated solutions can serve as a model for modernizing the VA healthcare system and ultimately provide Veterans with the high-quality care they deserve. DocMe360 is ready to partner with the VA to bring these innovations to life, ensuring that the VA clinics of tomorrow are equipped to meet the needs of today’s Veterans.
A Need for Integrated Solutions
Integrated solutions ensure new VA clinics deliver high-quality, timely care while optimizing resource allocation and reducing administrative burdens.
Improve Quality of Care through Patient Engagement
Patient engagement is central to effective healthcare delivery. For new clinics to thrive, it’s vital to foster both early and sustained engagement with Veterans. Automated appointment reminders, easy text-based rescheduling options, and transportation assistance can minimize no-show rates and help Veterans access care more consistently. Additionally, expanding access through integrated telehealth services and virtual messaging offers timely care while personalized health education and nutrient-forward groceries can drive better health outcomes. Meeting patients where they are—both physically and digitally—ultimately improves patient engagement and overall health outcomes.
Reduce Provider Cognitive Load to Prevent Burnout
Providers face increasing pressure and administrative burden, which contributes to burnout. By integrating clinical decision support systems, real-time, evidence-based guidelines can help providers quickly access vital information, eliminating the need for manual chart reviews or labor-intensive data searches. This empowers providers to focus more on patient care, improving their efficiency and reducing cognitive load. Such integration ensures they are better equipped to meet the growing needs of their patient base, resulting in reduced burnout and improved provider satisfaction.
Streamline Operational Workflows
High-demand clinic environments require operational efficiency to deliver quality care. A unified, integrated system optimizes administrative workflows and enables data-driven decision-making. Such systems can facilitate seamless management of both in-house appointments and external referrals, ensuring smooth transitions for patients throughout their care. By leveraging advanced data analytics tools, real-time dashboards, and predictive capabilities, clinics can monitor vital metrics like appointment utilization, patient wait times, and staffing levels, allowing for agile operational adjustments to enhance efficiency.
Integrated Technology Platforms
To optimize patient engagement, operational workflows, and overall clinic performance, new VA clinics should leverage top-tier platforms supported by custom technology integration. These solutions include:
Patient Engagement
A robust patient engagement platform automates outreach, appointment reminders, and two-way messaging to ensure seamless communication with patients. Multi-channel communication, automated surveys, and streamlined interactions improve patient engagement, reduce no-show rates, and enhance satisfaction by meeting patients where they prefer to communicate.
Care Coordination & Scheduling
This platform unifies the management of in-clinic appointments and external referrals. Real-time availability tracking and efficient referral management allow clinics to schedule appointments quickly and accurately, reducing administrative burden, minimizing scheduling conflicts, and optimizing clinic capacity.
Telehealth & Professional Network
A telehealth and professional network platform offers secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth services, including video consultations, secure messaging, and remote collaboration tools. These tools expand access to care, enabling more flexible, personalized, and efficient treatment options, particularly for Veterans who may face transportation or mobility challenges.
Data Analytics
A data analytics platform integrates data across multiple systems, providing actionable insights that support data-driven decision-making. Real-time dashboards, predictive analytics, and AI-driven decision support allow for continuous performance monitoring, enhancing resource allocation, reducing operational bottlenecks, and ultimately improving patient care delivery.
Customizing for the VA
The increasing demand for high-quality care within the VA system requires a comprehensive approach to implementing new technologies. Success relies on careful planning, collaboration, and a commitment to continuous improvement. To ensure new systems are adopted smoothly and provide long-term value, organizations should focus on:
Adopt a Veteran-Centered Vision. Engage Veterans and advocacy groups early to ensure the solutions align with their needs and expectations.
Prioritize Training & Change Management Implement robust training programs and designate “super-users” to champion each tool, ensuring a smooth transition and sustained usage.
Implement Incrementally with Pilot Programs. Begin with targeted pilot initiatives to validate performance, gather feedback, and refine processes before a full-scale rollout.
Ensure Seamless IT Integration & Compliance. Collaborate closely with VA IT, privacy, and cybersecurity teams to integrate the new systems securely with existing infrastructure.
Monitor, Measure, & Iterate. Establish clear key performance indicators (KPIs) and continuously monitor performance. Use feedback from both patients and staff to drive iterative improvements.
Align with Broader VA Initiatives. Connect these solutions to the VA’s digital modernization and patient experience strategies, positioning successful implementations as scalable models for other clinics.
How DocMe360 Can Help
DocMe360 is a leader in delivering integrated, technology-driven solutions that enhance patient engagement, streamline workflows, and improve health outcomes. Our experience in supporting various VA initiatives, such as VEText, Rideshare, Foodshare, and Clinical Decision Support, enables us to deliver measurable improvements across multiple VA healthcare settings.
Our solutions have made significant contributions, including:
VEText (Veteran Text Messaging System)
DocMe360 provided technical support for VEText, a secure SMS platform that sends appointment reminders and allows two-way communication. This system has significantly reduced no-show rates and improved scheduling efficiency by enabling Veterans to confirm or cancel appointments simply by replying to a text.
VA Homeless Office Rideshare Program[1]
To tackle transportation issues, DocMe360 developed a rideshare solution offering on-demand transportation for Veterans in VA homeless programs. This initiative has led to fewer missed appointments and improved healthcare engagement for vulnerable Veterans.
VA Homeless Office Foodshare Program[2]
Understanding the critical role of food security as a social determinant of health, DocMe360 partnered with the VA to create the Foodshare solution. This program connects Veterans with nutritionists who consider living conditions and dietary needs to build a grocery list. The system takes that grocery list and leverages Instacart to order groceries for the Veteran, ensuring that those in need have reliable access to food and related support services.
VistA Integrations
DocMe360 is building the test patient manager for VistA. It creates realistic health data for test patients and inserts it into VistA so multiple applications can test their system and new features.
Cerner Integrations
DocMe360 supported the integration of solutions with Oracle Health, such as VEText FEHRM and CDSC, as well as the data mapping, ATC, and testing of the integrations.
Clinical Decision Support Platform (CDSP)
DocMe360 developed a Clinical Decision Support Platform that integrates “SMART on FHIR” applications into the VA’s electronic health record (EHR) system. This platform provides real-time, patient-specific clinical guidance at the point of care, allowing providers to make swift, evidence-based decisions.
VA Systems Integrations, Platforms and Processes
DocMe360 has built custom engineering solutions at the enterprise level that required integrating with VA systems such as VA Profile, MPI, CXI, deploying in the VAEC, and going through and generating documentation for the ATO process.
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About DocMe360
DocMe360 is a leading health technology innovator dedicated to transforming Veteran care through modern, user-friendly solutions. With deep expertise in VA healthcare systems, we bridge the gap between advanced technology and clinical practice to enhance care delivery, streamline operations, and address the evolving needs of Veterans.
Disclaimer
This white paper is for informational purposes only. It outlines how DocMe360’s integrated solutions, combined with leading third-party platforms, can address the operational challenges of new VA clinics. All partner references in this document are generic placeholders reflecting categories of functionality rather than specific corporate entities. VA leadership, clinic administrators, and authorized vendor representatives should confirm implementation strategies.
For more information or to discuss implementation strategies, please contact:
Jacob Cheriathundam
CTO & Co-Founder
Paras Shah
CEO & Co-Founder
[1] https://nationalcenterformobilitymanagement.org/blog/rideshare-veterans/
[2] https://news.va.gov/74711/va-rideshare-rogram-adapts-help-covid-19/