Bill Young VA Medical Center cardiology clinic speeds access to care

SEMINOLE, Fla. (MCT) With frequent media reports of long wait times at veterans hospitals, Melville "Mac" Gibbons didn't know what to expect when he called the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center and asked to see a cardiologist.

The answer the Navy veteran got surprised him: Come on down. Now.

The hospital, the fourth-busiest in the Department of Veterans Affairs system, recently launched a new Convenient Cardiology Consult Clinic, or the C-4 Clinic, that allows new cardiology patients to be seen by a heart specialist the same day they are referred by other physicians at the hospital. Such patients had waited an average of 42 days previously, Young VA leaders said.

In the C-4 Clinic, hospital officials said, the average wait is about three hours.

The clinic offers what the VA calls a "one-stop shopping" experience. Previously, cardiology patients might have seen their primary care doctor on one day, gotten a cardiac test on a second and visited a cardiologist on a third.

The C-4 Clinic allows veterans to boil that down to one day, the VA said.

Amid reports of long wait times across the VA system, the Young VA touts the program as one of the ways the agency is working to speed access to care.

"They told me to come down anytime," said Gibbons, 79, a St. Petersburg resident recovering from a heart attack who decided to visit the clinic the day after his request. "That was real nice, really prompt. It was a good surprise."

Beyond aiding veterans, the new clinic is also helping taxpayers' wallets. It saves the VA money by allowing cardiologists to determine what tests and procedures a veteran may require, officials said. Previously, a primary care physician scheduled the tests, often without a cardiologist's input.

Cardiologists, using their expertise, order fewer tests, the hospital said. The Young VA estimates that this has already saved $200,000.

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Bill Young VA Medical Center cardiology clinic speeds access to care