VA increases access to care for veterans through telehealth – WSAW

(WZAW) -- Telehealth services provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are increasing access to care for veterans and helping to eliminate the need for patients to travel to the nearest VA facility for a variety of appointments. For many Veterans, using telehealth services is a viable option to provide care when and where they need it most.

Dr. Neil Evans, Chief Officer for the VAs Office of Connected Care, joined NewsChannel 7 at 4 on Tuesday to share how veterans can use telehealth services and how these technologies will change their health care journey. He said there are a host of telehealth services available to veterans.

We at VA deliver telehealth care in more than 50 clinical specialties. At least a portion of that care delivered via telehealth. VA has been a leader in telehealth for well over a decade, he said. The most common care or treatment veterans receive is for primary care, mental health, diabetes and cardiology.

Dr. Evans said that its important during the stay-at-home orders, which VA doctors and nurses are still able to monitor patients vital signs and make sure theyre taking care of their chronic conditions at home.

During the current coronavirus pandemic, weve seen a significant increase in the utilization of our video visits through our VA video connect platform.

Demand for telehealth accessibility has increased dramatically. Dr. Evans said prior to the pandemic in early March, the VA was doing about 1,500 video visits nationwide. Now that number is about 16,000 18,000 video visits to a veterans home every day.

He added that the ability to do telehealth visits is especially useful for those who live in rural areas or have limited access to technology. For those without any sort of technology, Dr. Evans said the VA wants to be a resource for finding technology and helping teach them how to use it.

For more information, visit http://www.connectedcare.va.gov

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VA increases access to care for veterans through telehealth - WSAW