The Department of Veterans Affairs has taken a lot of heat lately, but one thing they’ve done right is to be an early and enthusiastic advocate for telehealth.
Veterans with traumatic brain injuries require care coordination that goes above and beyond. The VA starting using telehealth technology in 2003 to foster greater communication between the veteran’s family members, clinicians and rehab providers.
Here are some lessons we’ve learned from the VA’s head start in telehealth:
- Be decisive – There’s nothing wishy-washy about the military. Once the VA saw the potential in telehealth, the organization jumped in with gusto. That’s the polar opposite of how Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) have implemented telehealth. The eHealth Initiative found that just 23 percent of ACOs surveyed were actively using telehealth technology. That’s partly because Medicare’s Pioneer ACO model didn’t initially contain enough telehealth incentives. CMS is trying to remedy that in its soon-to-launch Next Generation ACO model. But so far, ACOs haven’t come roaring out of the telehealth gate like the VA did.
- Have a vision – When the VA began using telehealth twelve years ago, its stated aim was to “improve the health of designated individuals and populations with the intent of providing the right care in the right place at the right time.”
That last phrase has since become the mantra of telehealth: right care, right place, right time. The VA had a vision for what telehealth could provide – and now it’s a reality around the world.
The VA is the poster child for what it means to be an “early adopter” of telehealth technology for care coordination. Now it’s time for CMS and other influential healthcare organizations to likewise have a dream for what telehealth can accomplish — and to move confidently in that direction.
Telehealth Veterans Affairs
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