Kudos to VA for its Telehealth Programs

Hospitals and Health Networks magazine recognized the Veterans Health Administration at the top of its list of the most “wired” hospital systems in the county in its annual technology survey.

The magazine said, “In the march to bring care to the patient, rather than the patient to the care, the Veterans Health Administration is leading the charge….the VHA has embraced a digital health strategy that ambitiously uses telemedicine and is pushing the system to become a testing lab for other care innovations”

The VHA home telehealth program allows treatment at a real home, not a nursing home. Last year, there were 119,000 home telehealth visits, largely focused on veterans with chronic conditions.

The award honors all 152 VA hospitals and in my view is well deserved.