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By Hollie Silverman
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The Department of Veterans Affairs said it finished deploying its External Provider Scheduling (EPS) system across all VA facilities to speed up scheduling for veterans who receive care in the community, with further expansion aimed at enrolling more providers this year.
The technology allows staff to book community appointments in real time and aims to reduce wait times across the system. The agency credited nationwide implementation to actions completed by late 2025 under the second Trump administration, a press release issued Monday said.
VA Secretary Doug Collins said the rollout builds on the MISSION Act’s promise of veteran choice between VA and community providers.
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Why It Matters
The VA has increasingly relied on community care to meet veteran demand, particularly in rural areas and specialties with limited in-house capacity, but manual scheduling has slowed access.
In a May 2025 House hearing on scheduling modernization, lawmakers and witnesses said traditional phone-based processes required repeated calls among veterans, VA staff and providers, contributing to delays.
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What Is the External Provider Scheduling System?
According to the VA, External Provider Scheduling gives VA staff “instant access to the scheduling systems of all community care providers who participate,” allowing schedulers to see available time slots and immediately book appointments that fit a veteran’s schedule.
The VA said the system is now active at all VA facilities and will expand its provider network this year.
Separately, senators from both parties introduced legislation in 2025 to permanently authorize and expand EPS, citing early gains in timeliness and productivity.
How Do Veterans Benefit From EPS?
The VA said EPS replaces a manual, multi-call process that could take days or weeks with direct, real-time booking, enabling staff to schedule as many as 25 community appointments per day and cutting the average scheduling task to minutes.
The department said the approach means “less waiting time for Veterans” and makes it easier for veterans to choose care that fits their schedules.
Lawmakers cited similar gains from early deployments. Representative Tom Barrett, the chair of the House Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, said the average appointment scheduling time using EPS was about 7 minutes, and some schedulers booked up to four times as many daily appointments compared with traditional methods at sites using the tool, while emphasizing the need to expand provider participation beyond early-adopter facilities.
The VA’s Community Care Network connects veterans with community clinicians across five regions, with Optum (Regions 1–3) and TriWest (Regions 4–5) administering it. VA describes EPS as a capability within this ecosystem that lets VA schedulers book appointments with participating providers, with visibility into location and drive time.
What Is the MISSION Act?
Witnesses and officials tied the rollout to the VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act, which broadened access to community care and veteran choice when certain criteria are met.
Collins framed EPS as furthering the MISSION Act’s commitment to veteran choice between VA and community providers.
In congressional oversight, Democrats and Republicans agreed technology must improve access while protecting VA’s capacity to deliver direct care, with lawmakers citing the need for provider network growth, standardized training, and integration with referral and records systems to realize EPS’s full benefits.
What People Are Saying
VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a press release issued Monday: “When President Trump signed the MISSION Act, Veterans eligible for community care were guaranteed the right to choose the health care that’s best for them, whether at a VA facility or a community provider. We are making it easier and more convenient than ever for those who have worn the uniform to choose the care that best fits their lifestyle.”
Representative Tom Barrett, a Michigan Republican, said in a statement on May 5, 2025: “When veterans are referred to Community Care, the scheduling process should be simple, fast, and focused on their healthcare…It is a tedious, manual, multi-step process that can stretch over hours into weeks…EPS eliminates a large portion of the time and labor intensive aspects of Community Care scheduling.”
Senator Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican and chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a press release on February 24, 2025: "Veterans should not have to wait weeks or months to obtain the care and services they have earned… [EPS] has resulted in veterans getting the health care they need faster.”
What Happens Next
The VA said it plans to expand EPS participation by “thousands” of additional community providers in 2026 to increase appointment availability and reduce wait times. The agency said providers can join at no cost.
Provider participation remains critical. House oversight highlighted gaps in EPS coverage during phased deployments and called for standardized training, stronger change management and broader network onboarding to ensure equitable access across VA regions.
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