ArticleJournal of general internal medicine2023
Michigan Market Referral Coordination Initiative: a Regional Market Approach to VA Specialty Care.
Article in Journal of general internal medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Geographic Access to Urodynamics Studies in the United States: A Medicare-Based Geospatial Analysis.Cureus · 2026Article
- Barriers and Facilitators to Cross-Institutional Referrals: System Configuration Analysis of VA Staff Experiences.Journal of general internal medicine · 2025Article
- Clinical recommendations for telehealth and electronic consultations in the veterans health administration referral coordination initiative.American heart journal plus : cardiology research and practice · 2025Article
- Racial and Ethnic and Rural Variations in Access to Primary Care for Veterans Following the MISSION Act.JAMA health forum · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Maintaining Internal Systems and Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act of 2018 was created in response to reports of prolonged wait times for veterans accessing health care within the Veterans Affairs (VA) system. In Michigan, the MISSION Act Community Care Program led to an increased number of veterans receiving specialty care outside the VA system, in part due to the complicated process of coordinating specialty care within the VA system. From 2018 to 2020, the percentage of veterans referred to the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System (AA) for specialty care from its two referring facilities, Battle Creek VA Medical Center (BC) and Saginaw VA Healthcare System (SAG), decreased from 54.4 to 27%.
objectiveImprove the number of Michigan veterans choosing VA specialty care.
interventionIn 2021, three VA facilities in Michigan (AA, BC, and SAG) created a market-level referral system named the Michigan Market Referral Initiative (MMRCI). This unique approach used a centralized nurse-driven team to manage specialty referrals, working directly with the veteran to explore both VA and community care (CC) options. MAIN MEASURES: Referrals triaged and acceptance rates for VA care were tracked. The localized Standard Episode of Care model was used to estimate cost savings. Post-intervention AA patient wait times were compared to local CC wait times. KEY
resultsIn the 14 months after implementation of the MMRCI, the rate of veteran retention increased by 32.4%. The estimated dollars retained within the VA by MMRCI efforts was $24,105,251 as of 7/1/2022. Post-intervention AA wait times were superior to community care except in 3 specialties.
conclusionsThis multifacility effort is an example of a highly coordinated, veteran-centered collaboration that has led to successful retention of veterans within the VA system with resultant large-scale cost avoidance and comparable clinic wait times. Focusing on central care coordination and veteran engagement in the referral process are keys to its success, along with leveraging existing referral patterns between nearby VA facilities. This model could be extrapolated to other VA markets throughout the country where similar relationships exist.
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