Telehealth: VA’s Use in Rural Areas

The Veterans Administration’s Office of Rural Health (ORH) provides funding, technical assistance, and mentoring so rural VA facilities can support rural health. There are two types of programs that make funding available for VA applicants.

The first program, the Rural Promising Practices provides field tested innovative projects that meet ORH criteria demonstrating improved access to care for rural veterans. The Rural Promising Practices using telehealth practices at various VA sites of care include:

  • Remote, Home-Based Delivery of Cardiac Rehabilitation uses telehealth to connect patients with cardiac rehab professionals that offer and tailor counseling sessions to the home
  • Clinical Video Telehealth to Care for Rural Veterans with Multiple Sclerosis uses telehealth to deliver rehabilitation care
  • Telehealth Collaborative Care for Rural Veterans with HIV infections are helped by using video telehealth to deliver HIV specialty care to rural veterans

 

The second program Enterprise-Wide Initiatives (EWI) delivers increased care and support to rural veterans in a more uniform manner. Some of these programs include:

  •  Tele-Intensive Care Units connect VA facilities that do not have intensivists on staff with VA intensivists nationwide via telehealth
  • Genomic Counseling Services use telehealth to increase rural access to genomic services including comprehensive genetic testing
  • Tele-rehabilitation services expand an integrated network of specialists who are specifically trained to deliver physical and rehabilitative therapies to rural veterans
  • National Tele-Stroke Program provides care by qualified stroke neurologists to veterans with stroke symptoms at VA medical centers
  • Tele-Audiology provides audiology remote fittings and aftercare services, remote diagnostic testing, and audiometric testing
  • Tele-dermatology expands care to include primary care training on dermatologic consults and minor procedures
  • Geriatric Fitness Program provides physical activity therapy to elderly rural veterans using telehealth
  • Sleep Telemedicine supports diagnosis and remote monitoring of veterans with sleep apnea via web-enabled devices
  • Technology-based Eye Care Services provides telehealth-based eye screening to enable ophthalmology technicians to collect information on patients’ eyes and transmit this information to VA ophthalmologists
  • National Tele-Neurology Program have telehealth sites available so veterans have access to neurology
  • National Tele-Oncology Program provides access to the latest technology in cancer treatment
  • Tele-Diabetes Program provides specialized diabetes service to rural veterans with uncontrolled diabetes by using secure internet video
  • Web-Based Behavioral supports veterans suffering from depression and/or post- traumatic stress disorder with tools to overcome these challenges
  • Military Sexual Trauma Web-Based Therapy uses telehealth to deliver specialized mental healthcare directly to homes

 

In FY 2019, EWIs served an estimated 2.6 million veterans at 488 VHA sites. This year, ORH will fund 51 EWIs at 97% of VA’s medical centers with $245 million.

Go to https://www.ruralhealth.va.gov/providers/promising_practices.asp and

https://www.ruralhealth.va.gov/providers/Enterprise_Wide_Initiatives.asp for more information on the two programs within the VA Office of Rural Health.