Following the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine rates for veterans enrolled in VA healthcare services remained high, accounting for more than half of mental healthcare visits, while telephone-based care has decreased to pre-pandemic levels, according to a recent study.
Telehealth Offers Promising Alternative to Traditional Sleep Medicine Care
Insufficient and disturbed sleep, as well as clinical sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea, shift work disorder and nightmare disorder, are highly prevalent in the U.S. military and can result in increased accident risk and diminished military readiness.
VA Celebrates 20 Years of Telehealth With Continued Expansion of Services
The VA launched its national telehealth services program in 2003. Twenty years later, it continues to look for new ways to break down barriers to care and expand services available to veterans from the comfort of their homes by tapping into services offered by industry leaders as well as developing internal capabilities.
Deportation Increases Risk of Poor Health for Noncitizen U.S. Veterans
For noncitizen U.S. military servicemembers, deportation can increase the risk of poor physical and mental health outcomes, making this group a vulnerable and often overlooked health disparity population, according to a recent study.
American Indian/Alaska Native Veterans Had Less Access to Mental Telehealthcare
The American Indian/Alaskan Native population has traditionally experienced more serious health issues and barriers to healthcare compared to those of other races or ethnicities.
Penumbra Sheds Light on Use of Virtual Reality for Veteran Rehab
In partnership with the VA’s Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning (OHIL), Penumbra Inc. aims to change the way veterans receive and literally see rehabilitation services.
Adherence to Diabetes Medications Remained High During COVID-19 Pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, high-risk diabetes patients who were treated in the VA Healthcare System adhered to their diabetes medication regimens and maintained high primary care use, even though virtual care replaced in-person care, according to a recent study.
Telemedicine Increase During Pandemic Put Spotlight on Possible Disparities
The VA has long been a leader in the use of virtual healthcare to improve access to care. When the pandemic caused shutdowns in 2020, virtual care became even more important at the VA.
VA Demonstrates Success in Remote Treatment of Aggressive Cancers
Initially, the TeleOncology service managed oral therapies and watchful waiting and surveillance of veterans with cancer, but it has expanded to offer remote supervision for intravenous cancer treatments.
HCC Surveillance Rebounded at VA, Still Low
How did the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic affect hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance and factors associated with completion at the VA?
Group Focuses on Telehealth Fraud at VA, DoD, Other Federal Agencies
While the pandemic has resulted in an explosion in the use of telehealth among federal health agencies, it also has created opportunities for fraud and waste, according to a recent joint report from six Offices of the Inspector General (OIGs).
Telehealth Rollback Puts Veterans Receiving Opioid Addiction Treatment at Risk
When the COVID-19 pandemic prompted federal policy changes increasing the use of telehealth delivery, one of those was the increased delivery of buprenorphine
Dietician Mary Julius Champions VA’s Virtual Diabetes Education Program
When Mary Julius was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1974, the world was a very different place. There were only approximately 4.5 million Americans who had been diagnosed with diabetes.
New Center at NYU Will Focus on How Social Factors Might Affect Veterans Using Telehealth for Cancer
As part of a larger initiative, a center will be established at New York University to determine how social factors might affect the delivery of telehealth for cancer care.
COVID-19 Telehealth Changes Improve VA Treatment for Opioid-Use Disorder
Implementing new policies during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced barriers to telehealth delivery of buprenorphine treatment for opioid-use disorder for veterans seeking care, a new study reports.
Telemedicine Effective for Parenteral Chemotherapy Administration at VAMC
With patients in rural Nebraska who have trouble accessing the primary campus in Omaha, the VA Affairs Nebraska Western Iowa Health Care System (VA-NWIHCS) is using teleoncology and remote chemotherapy services to expand care to those veterans.
Facility Performance Metrics Unavailable With Spokane EHR Rollout
When VA’s new electronic health record (EHR) went live at the Mann-Grandstaff VAMC in October 2020, the system did not have the metrics in place to allow the hospital to measure how the facility was performing, according to a recent study released by the VA Office of the Inspector General.
VHA National Telestroke Program Uses Technology to Improves Acute Stroke Care
Prompt access to specialized care is critical to limiting the damage caused by a stroke.
COVID-19 Pandemic Hits VHA’s MOVE! Weight-Loss Program Hard
The VHA acted quickly to convert its MOVE! Weight Management Program for Veterans to virtual care using telehealth when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020.
EHR Rollout Increased Patient Error Risks, Made Staff Jobs More Difficult
Due to the sheer number of complaints received about VA’s rollout of its new electronic health record (EHR) at the Mann-Grandstaff VAMC, the VA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) initiated two separate, simultaneous inspections into the EHR process.
Who Receives Video Telemental Health Services at VA? It Depends.
Across specialties, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted an unprecedented shift toward the use of telemedicine. At the same time, the pandemic has produced a surge in demand for mental health services, as depression and anxiety have dramatically increased.
OIG: VA Aware of Scheduling System Issues Before Second VAMC Rollout
VA knew of problems with its new scheduling system prior to its implementation at the Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center in Columbus, OH, and later at the Mann-Grandstaff VAMC in Spokane, WA, but failed to fix them before going live at the two facilities, according to a report released last month.
VA Continues to Struggle With Medical/Surgical Inventory Management
VA’s new inventory management system being piloted at the James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in Chicago is failing to meet many of the facility’s needs, according to agency overseers.
Efforts to Gather More Data on Veteran Patients Sparks Controversy
On numerous occasions, VA officials testifying before Congress have, upon being asked, been unable to provide accurate demographics on the department’s patient population, because the information had not been collected or collated.
VA Seeks More Contractors to Support Expanding Telehealth Programs
As VA faces a post-pandemic landscape that includes an increased reliance on telehealth, it is looking to put its money where its healthcare needs are.
For Veterans With Cancer, Teleoncology Offers High Patient Satisfaction
Approximately 50,000 U.S. military veterans are diagnosed with cancer annually, representing 3% of all cancers across the nation.
Some Patients Who Would Benefit Most From Telemedicine Can’t Access It
Telemedicine offers convenient healthcare for many, but those who could stand to benefit most could be the least able to access it, according to a new analysis.
VA’s Tele-Oncology Services Proved Beneficial During COVID-19 Shutdowns
Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, 2,749 face-to-face visits for medical oncology and 5,093 visits for radiation oncology occurred at the Ann Arbor, MI, VAMC from June 2019 to December 2019.
Infrastructure Costs to Modernize VA Could Cost Billions Extra
VA might have underestimated the physical infrastructure costs related to its electronic health record modernization effort by billions according to a VA Inspector General report analyzing the project costs.
VA Emergency Medicine Chief Used Videocast to Share Ideas During Pandemic
As VA’s National Emergency Medicine chief, Chad Kessler, MD, appreciates the importance that communication plays in seeing people through a crisis.