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VA Laredo outpatient clinic updates appointment process, expands podiatry and CPAP visits
Summary
Crystal Cabido, a representative of the VA Laredo outpatient clinic, told the Laredo Veterans Affairs Committee on Jan. 14 that the clinic will pilot a two-appointment model intended to give veterans more provider time.
Crystal Cabido, a representative of the VA Laredo outpatient clinic, told the Laredo Veterans Affairs Committee on Jan. 14 that the clinic will pilot a two-appointment model intended to give veterans more provider time. “We are working on doing a new appointment process, and that is having a 15 minute appointment with your nurse prior to your provider,” Cabido said.
Cabido said the change will produce two notifications for patients because the pre-visit with a nurse will be scheduled separately from the full provider appointment. The clinic expects the split to allow more focused time with the provider for diagnoses and follow-up.
The clinic also is expanding some on-site specialty services. Cabido said podiatry and CPAP support will now be offered twice a month rather than once, so veterans who previously traveled to Corpus Christi will have more local options. “We had them once a month, but we are starting to have them twice a month,” she said.
Cabido urged veterans who use community-care vouchers to confirm the voucher’s validity before attending outside appointments, saying expired or missing vouchers cause appointment cancellations. “I usually tell majority of the veterans to get a copy of the voucher so you could take with you,” she said, noting fax delays are common and out of clinic control.
The clinic plans to host a My HealtheVet enrollment/navigation team on-site “sometime next month” to help veterans who have not enrolled or who need assistance using the portal. Cabido said she will circulate the exact dates when scheduled. She also announced the clinic’s legal clinic meets every fourth Tuesday; the next session will be Jan. 28. A food drive is planned next month; the date was not specified.
Committee members asked about staffing in physical therapy; Cabido said the clinic recently added a physical therapist assistant so the therapist can handle initial evaluations and the assistant can take follow-ups, and hiring beyond that will depend on caseload and the new budget cycle.
The announcements were made during the committee’s communications and announcements portion of the Jan. 14 meeting.
