A panel has determined that viable healthcare solutions exist for the plethora of problems that plague the Department of Veterans Affairs’ health care system. It also appears that telemedicine tops the list of remedies to be used today, and will be greatly expanded in the future.
The VA came under severe scrutiny in 2014 for leaving tens of thousands of patients facing excessively long wait times for medical care. Some of the veterans reportedly died before it was their turn to be seen by a doctor or specialist within this highly inefficient system.
Dr. David Shulkin, Under Secretary for Health and VA Chief Executive, recently spoke at the American Telemedicine Association’s annual spring conference, stating that solutions are being sought and the advancements in telemedicine has encouraged the VA to explore these progressive and trustworthy options to provide veterans with better services.
In fact, according to Shulkin, the VA supported 2.1 million episodes with telehealth care over the past year. This figure included a variety of services like home telehealth, and site-to-site telehealth, as well as 400,000 telemental health visits for veterans.
Telemedicine – a remote consultation using a phone app or online through a personal computer or tablet is being used across all patient demographics, not just with veterans. More and more people are opting to “see” a doctor through telemedicine for common illnesses and prescriptions.
Growing in popularity over the last few years, telemedicine has been backed by several health plans, including Cigna Inc. Approximately 15 million people tapped into this innovative, time-saving method to get medical advice and treatment back in 2014, and that figure was a 50 % increase from the prior year, according to the Telemedicine Association.
VA Recognizes Telemedicine Results
To date, telemedicine initiatives by the VA have reduced readmissions of patients to hospitals by 32 percent, and decreased total psychiatric admissions by 35 percent, Shulkin said. And the veterans who use the service are happy with their care, with satisfaction scores reaching 89 percent.
“One of the good things about crisis is that it does give you a sense of clarity,” Shulkin stated in his conference address. “And so in response to this access crisis we’ve recently released what we look at as our Declaration of Independence, what we call our Declaration of Access, which commits to the sustainable fixes we’re going to take at VA to address the access issue for veterans.”
According to a recent report, proposed services in the future include having same day primary care services and same day mental health services in every VA medical center in the country by the end of 2016.
“We believe telehealth is an important component of addressing the access issue for VA,” Shulkin stated.
The VA has a huge access issue and an enormous challenge, since it covers patients across the entire United States, whether they live in rural or urban areas. Telemedicine answers to this challenge because it has particular benefits to people who use it, such as access to remote or hard to see specialists and well as faster access to primary care.
This means that the quality of service you receive may be better than if you settled for a doctor close-by or waited for a hard to get an appointment. In the case of specialized conditions, it not only allows patients in rural or underserved area to gain access to a qualified specialist quickly, it enables hospitals to re-brand themselves and expand their reach to more patients in need of service.
The VA’s Telehealth Plans in a Nutshell
The VA offers some avenues of telehealth care right now, but wants to expand. It proposes creating more telemedicine hubs from which a variety of care can be delivered remotely. For example, at its Palo Alto radiology hub, the needs of about 88 other VA facilities are supported remotely. The VA hubs even include remote tele-ICU hubs and telemedicine appointments to remotely deliver genetic counseling.
Other VA initiatives in their telemedicine plan include the possibility of adding kiosks and text messaging services to further increase patient access to help with managing chronic health condition and basic questions about medications.
Plans for More in VA Mental Health
- At least five new telemental health hubs are planned. The Mental Health Telehealth Clinical Resource Centers will be located in Charleston, Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh, and a consortium of facilities will be created in Boise, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon.
- A specialty hub focused on the most severe and complex mental health issues, such as chronic depression and bipolar disorder, is already open in West Haven, Connecticut. The others are expected to “open” over the summer.
According to Shulkin, the VA is looking to approach their healthcare crisis by asking the veterans themselves, “How do you want your healthcare delivered?” and letting the patients lead the direction the initiative will take.
“Obviously, now more and more people want it delivered in their mobile apps for convenience, so that’s the direction we’re heading in. We have to continue to meet the veteran where they are right now,” he stated.
It requires time for any new trend to catch on, and telemedicine is no different. But slowly, awareness, understanding, and acceptance is growing and more and more patients and their doctors are jumping on board according to recent surveys. Hospitals (and insurance companies) have shown support, mainly because it reduces hospital stays and cuts costs. In general, the average cost of an online consultation for some patients is $50, versus an average of $80 for an office visit.
“We know we can’t do this alone,” he Shulkin. “We know we need partners, we need all of you who are out there innovating to help us take care of our veterans. This is a shared responsibility. The crisis has helped us learn that we can’t do this alone. And this is a different VA than the past. We’re looking to learn, we’re looking to work with all of you who are innovating to help take better care of veterans.”
Companies Leading the Way in Telemedicine
When it comes to basic patient diagnosis and commonly prescribed prescriptions, trusted companies like eDrugstore have use telemedicine and online medical consultations to increase patient access to medications and healthcare.
An online medical consultation is a great choice for patients seeking treatment for non-life threatening conditions – including male impotence or conditions that typically do not necessitate an immediate visit to your doctor’s office.
eDrugstore is not new to using telemedicine either. They have been using this patient-friendly way to improve healthcare delivery since 1998, striving to meet and exceed all regulations pertaining to telemedicine.
Conclusion
After a recent VA audit, it was found that tens of thousands of newly returning veterans wait at least 90 days for medical care, while even more who signed up in the VA system over the past 10 years never got the immediate appointment they requested. The VA is clearly hoping that telemedicine is the solution they have been seeking to better meet the needs of all of these patients who deserve the best in care.
For more articles on telemedicine and sexual health, check out our blog
We specialize in providing our over 1,000,000 customers with relevant product and condition information created by our professional editorial staff which includes our team of medical writers, medical practitioners, and health educators. eDrugStore.com Staff on Facebook