The Veteran Administration’s ORH www.ruralhealth.va.gov has identified projects detailing proven models of care known as “Rural Promising Practices” which are now being implemented nationwide www.ruralhealth.va.gov/providers promisingpractices.asp.
One of the projects is using video telehealth to expand care for veterans with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Today, there are more than 30,000 veterans with MS who rely on the VA for healthcare. Treatment often requires regular visits with various specialists.
VA data shows that 45 percent of veterans with MS live in rural communities which means almost half of veterans with MS may face long distances to MS specialty care centers. Clinical Video Telehealth (CVT) connects veterans to specialists from a nearby Community Based Outpatient Clinic or from their own homes. This telehealth model helps MS patients make follow up visits when the patient’s neurological and physical exam requires a telepartner to guide the examination.
Home-to-hub CVT can also help in the delivery of telerehabilitation for acute and chronic disorders requiring physical therapy for veterans with limited access to physical therapy in rural areas. Using a telerehabilitation device in the home enables veterans to take part in care coordination with social workers, mental healthcare providers, dieticians, primary care providers, and specialty clinicians located at remote locations.
The next step for the MS rehabilitation program is to hold ongoing discussions with the MS Centers of Excellence on how to expand the program to treat more MS patients. The goal is to enable community providers to not only adopt CVT to help patients with MS, but to help patients with other complex and progressive neurological disorders including Parkinson’s disease, ALS, spinal cord injuries, and polytrauma.
The plan is to eventually develop collaborative partnerships with ORH and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services while expanding existing relationships with the VA’s MS Centers of Excellence.