DALLAS -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is going to need help from both the public and private sectors to transform its system of care, according to Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald.

"We're in an extraordinary position. We have an opportunity not only to right wrongs, but to reframe the proposition and the perception about VA," McDonald said here Saturday at a meeting of the American Medical Association.

Formerly the CEO of Procter and Gamble, McDonald joined the VA 3 months ago in the wake of an exploding controversy. Last spring, staff at a Phoenix VA hospital were found to have falsified scheduling records in order to mask extended delays in appointments. Hundreds of veterans waited months for an appointment.

In his talk on Saturday, McDonald outlined the provisions of the Veterans Access Choice and Accountability Act, which was enacted in August as a means of correcting the agency's flaws and punishing unscrupulous behavior.

He explained the three core principles of the new law: to rebuild veterans and stakeholders' trust, to improve service delivery, and to move toward "long-term excellence." Forming partnerships with public and private entities is critical to achieving these goals, he said.

"We know we can't operate in a vacuum. No 21st-century organization can. That's why we're aggressively leveraging our existing relationships and affiliations and forging new ones," he said.

One element of the VA's "patient experience challenge" is a shortage of physicians. In an attempt to boost recruitment, McDonald toured medical and nursing schools, increased the number of residencies by 1,500, and doubled the education debt reduction payments from $60,000 to $120,000.

A more immediate resolution to the physician shortage is to enable veterans to visit private physicians. The act allows veterans living more than 40 miles from a VA facility -- or veterans who have been waiting for more than 30 days -- to visit private doctors. From mid-May through mid-September, the VA authorized non-VA care for more than 1 million veterans, a 46% increase from the same period in 2013.

To streamline the process, the VA began mailing "choice cards" -- similar to insurance cards -- to veterans last week. It also launched a call center to help veterans determine their eligibility for private care.

In addition to the Veterans' Choice program, McDonald summarized several new initiatives and partnerships:

A partnership with the Institutes of Medicine to launch a study of access standards and wait-time metrics

A partnership with Walgreens to provide vaccinations for veterans and help maintain veterans' complete medical records

An initiative with the Northern Virginia Technology Council to redesign the VA's scheduling system

An initiative with nursing schools to focus on veterans' psychiatric and mental health care needs

A partnership with the Department of Defense to recruit soon-to-be-discharged military healthcare professionals

Lastly, McDonald said he is developing a consulting board of physicians to advise him on industry best practices.

"Our goal is simple to provide quality medicine and first-rate healthcare delivered with the same proactive, real-time, courteous, coordinated services as the top-ranked companies in the country," he said.

"We seek your input as we move forward in implementing the Choice Act. We welcome your participation and collaboration across the spectrum of care."