The team produced a Walk-In Enrollment Experience Journey Map — a large-format printed poster and digital file — capturing the actions, pain points, and bright spots of both veterans and VAMC staff across all five phases of enrollment. The map also documented opportunities for improvement across three timeframes.

Immediately actionable opportunities:

• Redirecting outreach representatives to promote online and phone enrollment as a fast, reliable first step before visiting a VAMC
• Identifying common life-event triggers for enrollment to develop more timely outreach campaigns
• Piloting an Orientation Team at select VAMCs, where dedicated staff greet and guide new enrollees
• Requiring ID photo capture at the first in-person visit to eliminate unnecessary return trips
• Profiling “Easy Enrollees” — veterans with straightforward documentation — and directing them to self-enroll online or by phone

Medium-term opportunities:

• Researching the most common enrollee case types to develop tailored enrollment pathways per persona
• Conducting research into what is working well about the in-person experience, so that centralized systems preserve and enhance those merits
• Developing a deeper understanding of pending cases to clarify where veterans are falling through the cracks between VAMC and HEC follow-up

Longer-term opportunities:

• Integrating enrollment data systems so veterans can switch channels without restarting the process
• Helping “Easy Enrollees” self-identify and self-enroll via phone or digital channels through targeted outreach campaigns
• Offering digital data entry tablets at VAMCs as a precursor to in-person validation, allowing veterans to begin the process while they wait