Telehealth on the rise
Erie VAMC employees, Theresa Allen and Stacy Fritts, demonstrate Erie VAMC's new telehealth carts.
Telehealth is becoming an increasingly popular form of convenient and reliable health care for patients. In fact, more than 16 percent of Erie VA’s entire patient population is now using some form of telehealth services.
Telehealth services use technology to bring specialty care closer to Veterans living in rural areas. Instead of having to drive to the Erie VA or another larger VA for specialty care, some services can be provided at one of our convenient community based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) and even within a patient’s home.
Services provided at the CBOCS include:
- Clinical Video Telehealth (CVT) services: MOVE weight management, pre-diabetes/lipid nutrition groups, speech, behavioral health, nephrology, spinal cord injury/disease, and a sleep clinic
- Store and Forward (SF) services: Retinal imaging and dermatology
- Home Telehealth (HT) services: Care coordination home telehealth
- Telehealth programs coming soon: Post-deployment case management and behavioral health, hospice/palliative care consults, sleep study group education, women’s health group, pre-surgical group (reinstated), Telederm CVT with Pittsburgh
- Secure messaging: Patients enrolled in My HealtheVet
Where we are: More than 3,600 patients are currently using some form of telehealth services surpassing our Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 goal by almost 400 patients. Erie VA’s not stopping there.
Where we are going: By FY 2013, Erie VA plans to expand telehealth services to more than 6,500 patients and by FY 2014 more than 10,900 patients.
Why? It’s convenient, patient-centered care.
For more information about telehealth services, visit www.telehealth.va.gov or call talk to your health care provider today to learn more.
