VHA’s VA Health Connect modernization initiative of 2020 was to transform medical facilities’ call centers into regionally managed units called clinical contact centers. The centers were expected to integrate operations and provide veterans 24-hour access to four core services by December 31, 2021: primary care scheduling, pharmacy support, clinical triage, and virtual provider care. Center staff were to answer at least 95 percent of calls promptly, answer at least 80 percent of primary care scheduling and pharmacy calls within 30 seconds, and answer at least 80 percent of clinical triage calls within 120 seconds.
The OIG team conducted its review from October 2024 through July 2025, with a focus on operations during FY 2024, and found that only clinical triage met both standards; it exceeded the call timeliness standard, with 82 percent of calls answered within 120 seconds. Most centers had not fully integrated operations by September 2022, and some did not provide 24-hour pharmacy or scheduling services in FY 2024. Additionally, some medical facilities did not route all incoming calls to their regional contact center.
The review team found that centers did not always adequately oversee schedulers, monitor the time schedulers spent on individual calls or on follow-up, or monitor the percentage of time schedulers were unavailable—all of which affect call abandonment rates and timeliness.
In December 2024, centers were allowed to request a temporary exemption from VA Health Connect requirements, but the waiver policy did not specify what information to include with the request or require VHA’s chief operating officer to review waivers.
To address the problems identified, the OIG made nine recommendations. VHA concurred with eight and concurred in principle with one.
