Telehealth for Vets: Another Way to Access Your VA Medical Care

A coupla weeks ago we talked about the VA’s mobile apps for smartphones.  Here’s the other shoe dropping---Telehealth. It’s making a real difference in how medical care is delivered.  How?  By using computers and video to bring patients and doctors together. Specifically, by bringing the doctors to the patients, not the other way around.

Love’em or hate ‘em, computers and video can close the distance between vets and their physicians and specialists. It’s a big country.  Plenty of wide open spaces still, and plenty of vets who have to travel hours to get to a VA facility.  This is where Telehealth Clinics shorten that time and distance.  At the clinic, you get to “see” the doctor while a nurse or physician’s assistant takes your vitals.  The doc can even hear your heart beat and your lungs swooshing. Sure beats a long boring drive and having to find a parking place at the end!

‘Spose you need a specialist.  Rather than fly across the country for an appointment, a video conference can put you and that specialist in the same room.  He’s looking at you on his monitor while you’re looking at him on yours.  All those visual clues we use to interact with people?  Both you and the doc are live and onstage. 

Those visual clues can be especially important in counseling, where the doctor can watch facial expressions, hand movements, posture.  All the different ways we communicate how we feel. See what I mean?  You can watch this in action on this video.

If a vet has a chronic condition like diabetes or heart problems, something that needs consistent monitoring, there are home-based devices that the VA will supply if you meet the requirements.

Called Care Coordination/Home Telehealth (or CCHT), the device uses phone lines to connect the vet to the nearest VA facility to transfer health data like blood pressure and heart rate. 

The VA makes a point about Telehealth  not being just about technology.  They’re looking for ways to connect you with the medical care you’ve earned. Sure it’s different, but it seems like a lotta folks can benefit. Me included.  Even if it does involve a computer.

Hey, you have a happy, healthy New Year!

Dave Culmer, Semper Fi