The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has launched a pilot telehealth program referred to as the “Telemedicine Outreach for PTSD” or (TOP) program to give rural veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) remote access to psychotherapy and related services.
IThe VA’s Office of Rural Health https://www.ruralhealth.va.gov in partnership with the VA’s Quality Enhancement Research Initiative https://www.queri.research.va.gov has just announced they are supporting the TOP program to deliver therapy and other care through phone and interactive video contact.
To date, more than 500 rural veterans who are not receiving specialty PTSD care have enrolled in the study. The participants may choose between the two main forms of evidence-based, trauma-focused psychotherapy used in the VA that includes cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure therapy.
Veterans participating in the program receive frequent phone calls from a care manager who helps the veterans access services provided by off-site psychiatrists and psychologists. The psychotherapy is delivered via interactive video from a VA medical center to a Community-Based Outpatient Clinic CBOC) or to the veteran’s home. The telephone care manager monitors the veterans’ progress and helps veterans overcome barriers to care.
The VA has taken an active role in addressing PTSD by establishing the VA’s National Center for PTSD that provides research information and conducts education programs focused on PTSD. The VA has also established the National PTSD Brain Bank which is a brain tissue repository supporting research on the causes, progression, and treatment for PTSD.
Dr. John Fortney, Research Health Scientist at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle Washington is leading the project. The program now includes 12 Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) in the U.S in Charleston, South Carolina, Iowa City, Little Rock, Arkansas, Denver Colorado, San Diego, California, and Seattle. The results of the pilot will be made available in 2020 and will lay the groundwork for the national implementation of the TOP program.
Go to https://www.research.va.gov/topics.ptsd.cfm for more information on VA research on PTSD.