Approximately 55 percent of veterans live in rural areas with limited access to VA healthcare. To meet the healthcare needs of the veteran population, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) just announced that their national telehealth programs www.telehealth.va.gov has served more than 690,000 veterans during FY 2014. This total represents about 12 percent of the overall veteran population enrolled for VA healthcare and accounts for more than 2 million telehealth visits.
Currently, there are more than 44 clinical specialties offered to veterans through VA’s telehealth programs. One program at the Miami VA Healthcare System www.miami.va.gov schedules close to 90 clinic connections every week for dermatology, eye exams, and also provides care for the women veterans program, podiatry, mental health, and other clinical specialties.
One example of a successful VA telehealth program is the teleaudiology program which has resulted since a large population of veterans are living with hearing loss. This program has grown from 1,016 veterans in FY 2011 to more than 10,589 in FY 2014.