Washington DC VA Medical Center

VEText Logo

Starting July 2, Veterans who use the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center will begin receiving appointment reminders on their cell phones. VEText allows Veterans to easily confirm or cancel their VA appointments. No sign up is required, nor do Veterans need to download an app on their cell phones. All the Veteran needs to do, is ensure his or her cell phone number is current in their electronic medical record.

According to Health System Specialist, Sandy Shepard, VEText will not replace current reminder systems, but will enhance the appointment notification process.

"VEText is going to help Veterans keep track of their appointments and decrease the number of no-shows," she said. 

The program has been launched at more than 100  medical centers across the nation and the preliminary results are promising showing a 12% decrease in “No Shows”.

"Veterans will receive a text message reminder and they can quickly confirm or cancel.  If they cancel, the newly-opened time slot can be offered to other Veterans," Shepard said.

 

VEText Facts

 

What is VEText?

• An automated, interactive text message system to remind Veterans of upcoming VA appointments.  Veterans can respond to confirm or cancel an appointment.

 

Why is VA introducing VEText?

• For one reason or another, Veterans miss more than nine million health care appointments each year. Sometimes it is hard to keep track of the times or it may be difficult to cancel appointments. VEText will send timely text alerts and allow Veterans to confirm or cancel the date and time with a simple text back.  The medical center will then be able to offer any newly-opened appointment times to other Veterans.

 

What does VEText do?

• Reminds Veterans of appointments.

• Allows Veterans a useful and convenient cancellation option if desired.
• Allows a download of the reminder to a calendar file.

 

When will VEText start?

• Starts Monday, July 2, 2018 for Washington DC VA Medical Center appointments. 

 

What do Veterans need to do to get started with VEText?

• Update or provide an active cell phone number with VA staff.
• No need to opt-in; text appointment reminders will occur automatically. 
• Veterans may STOP the texts by following the instructions within the texts.
• No cell phone? No problem. VeText does not replace other reminders. It simply improves the experience. 
• VEText does not show personal information—just a simple reminder of an appointment and offers tools to manage the appointment.
• If you would like to know more, reach out to Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s Call Center at 202-745-8577.