P

PATIE

A

NT ALIGN

C

ED CARE

T

TEAM

PATIENT ALIGNED CARE TEAM
PACT

PATIENT ALIGNED CARE TEAM Patient Aligned Care Team

A Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) is each Veteran working together with 

health care professionals to plan for whole-person care and life-long health 

and wellness. They focus on:

Partnerships with Veterans

Access to care using diverse methods

Coordinated care among team members

Team-based care with Veterans as the center of their PACT

A PACT is part of the VA health care system’s program of change and 

improvement. Today VA health care is transforming into an organization 

that defines excellence in the 21st century. Our mission is to deliver 

health care that is patient-centered, data-driven, continuously improving, 

and team-based.

With this new model of health care, VA health care is focusing on 

transformation that integrates with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 

(VA) overriding principles to be people-centric, results-oriented, and 

forward-thinking.

This new approach to the way VA delivers health care presents an 

innovative model that is flexible, all-inclusive, and holistic. It is based 

on a health care concept that focuses on Veteran patients, health care 

professionals, VA employee support to patient care, and health systems.

VA’s PACT approach to health care will result in:

 Healthier and more satisfied patients

 Coordinated and holistic care

 Streamlined delivery of services

 Lower costs for health care

This is our PACT with you—

to deliver excellence in every aspect of patient care.
A

P

Partnerships

between Veterans and health care teams

A PACT is a partnership between you and your health care team to ensure 

you receive whole-person care. This is personalized care to meet your 

individual health care goals. It is comprehensive, as it looks at all aspects 

of you health care. It is positive, as it focuses on health as opposed to 

disease. It is proactive, as it emphasizes wellness, prevention, and health 

promotion. It is not just a reaction to acute care needs or episodic carebased illnesses. 

A PACT uses the most up-to-date, evidence-based information to 

determine patient care. Working in partnership with you to meet your 

health care goals, your PACT provides tools for delivering whole-person 

care. These may include educational materials, preventive care services, 

lifestyle coaching, and early detection screening. 

Technology is another valuable tool for you and your team to use. It is 

essential to you and your PACT for communication and gaining access to 

information. It is also used to measure the quality of your care and to find 

out how satisfied you and the members of your team are with all aspects 

of your health care services. 

Access to care

through a variety of methods

Your PACT offers many ways to access health care. In addition to personal visits with your 

primary health care provider, you may schedule visits with other members of your team. With 

VA’s PACT approach, you also have access to group clinics and educational seminars. And, 

you can talk with members of your PACT over the telephone or communicate through My 

HealtheVet’s online Secure Messaging system. 

One comprehensive website available to you is VA’s My HealtheVet (www.myhealth.va.gov) where 

you can find a wealth of VA health care information and services. Here you can access trusted, 

secure, and current health and benefits information. My HealtheVet allows you to create and 

maintain your own web-based personal health record. It also gives you access to health education 

information and resources. 
TC

Coordinated care among all team members 

A PACT achieves coordinated care through collaboration. Each member of the team has a clearly 

defined role and knows how to relate to others on the team. The key is communicating with each 

other openly and frequently. Team members meet often to talk with you and each other about 

your progress toward achieving your health care goals. The focus is on forging trusted, personal 

relationships that promote open communication and sharing of information. Working together with 

your PACT, you can develop your health care goals and use all the resources of the team to find ways 

to achieve them. 

Your PACT members coordinate all aspects of your health care within your team and with the 

secondary team outside of your primary care system. They oversee the transitions to specialists 

and other health care professionals who are part of your health care plan. They also coordinate 

the transitions if you have need of an emergency room, inpatient care, or have to go into dual care 

with non-VA clinicians. In addition, they work with you on private sector referrals and to arrange for 

community resources when you need them. They help you plan for life-long health care goals to 

improve your overall quality of care.

Team-based care with Veterans as the center of their PACT

Veterans are the center of the PACT. Your family members and caregivers are part of your 

PACT. The team also includes health care professionals:

 Your primary care provider

 A nurse who serves as your care manager

 A clinical associate

 An administrative clerk

When other services are needed to meet your goals and needs, another care team may 

be called in. Members may include social workers, dietitians, pharmacists, mental health 

practitioners, specialists, and other non-VA health care professionals. All of these team 

members work with you to coordinate a wide variety of health care resources. 

You are the center of the team and thus an active participant in making decisions. Of 

course, other members of the team will provide information and offer their ideas, but 

with the PACT you have a say and have ownership over your own health care. In this way, 

you can make sure that your individual needs get met.
M

Patien

y P

PATIENT 

ACT

ALIGNED CARE TEAM t Aligned Care Team

NOTES

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

______________________________________________________________________________________ 
VA Health Care’s Transformation 

 to Patient-Centered Principles

VA health care’s campaign, Defining Excellence in the 21st Century, 

is focused on you, our Veteran patient. Our commitment to you is 

expressed in these 12 patient-centered principles:

 Honor the Veteran’s expectation of safe, high quality 

and accessible care.

 Enhance the quality of human interactions and 

therapeutic alliances.

 Solicit and respect the Veteran’s values, preferences 

and needs.

 Systematize the coordination, continuity and 

integration of care.

 E mpower Veterans through information 

and education.

 I ncorporate the nutritional, cultural and nurturing 

aspects of food.

 Provide for physical comfort and management 

of pain.

 Ensure emotional and spiritual support.

 Encourage involvement of family and friends.

 Provide an architectural layout and design conducive 

to health and healing.

 Introduce creative arts into the healing environment.

 Support and sustain an engaged workforce as key to 

providing patient-centered care.
PACT VA’s Commitment to Transformation

Defining Excellence in the 21st Century

As VA employees, we are committed to bring dramatic improvements to 

you through our system of health care delivery. We know you are looking 

for a better health care experience, better coordination of health care 

services, more economical use of time, improved patient safety, and more 

satisfaction with the health care services you receive. That’s why we are 

working with you in a PACT.

Development of your PACT is a part of your VA health care’s initiative, 

Defining Excellence in the 21st Century, which is:

 Patient-centered 

 Data-driven

 Continuously improving 

 Team-based 
VA Health Care’s 

Goals for Excellence

The goals of VA health care’s Defining Excellence in the 21st Century 

are to:

 Align all components of VA health care into a unified 

integrated delivery system

 Reduce variations within the VA health care system

 Build a standardized system throughout VA health care

 Use evidence as agents of change 

The PACT is a key part of this program. These engaged, collaborative 

teams put you, the patient, at the center of the decision-making process. 

This ensures that your wants, needs and preferences are respected. In 

this way you have the opportunity to fully participate in your health 

care management. We are on the team to give you the benefit of our 

knowledge and experience, as well as our counsel and support. 

Department of Veterans Affairs 

Veterans Health Administration

www.va.gov/PrimaryCare/pact/ 

www.va.gov Revised 11/10 | IB 10-369, P96440