Welcome to this session on using DS Logon to access secure VA Mobile Apps.
VA is about to release a suite of mobile apps to help you better manage your health care
and stay in touch with your VA care team.
These apps include: Mobile Blue Button - which allows you to create
a pdf of your VA Electronic Health Record (EHR), which you can print or email,
Summary of Care - which gives you access to your key medical information, such as your
glucose levels, weight, and blood pressure,
and Annie - a text app that can send health prompts, appointment reminders, and messages specific
to your health care from your local VA medical facility.
Training on these apps will be made available on each mobile app's VA App Store web page.
There is one key difference between these mobile apps and others you may already be
using - apps such as Ask a Pharmacist, PTSD Coach, and MOVE Coach
offer general health information.
Apps such as Mobile Blue Button, Summary of Care, and Annie
offer your personal health information.
This key difference is a matter of your privacy.
VA protects your Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI)
by restricting access to the apps that process it.
Think of Mobile Blue Button, Summary of Care, Annie, and others like them as padlocked doors.
You must have a key to open them, and that key is DoD Self-Service Logon, also known
as DS Logon.
This session introduces DS Logon,
which is the logon that you would see when starting one of these locked apps.
You will need a DS Logon Account to access your Electronic Health Records (or EHR).
This session's objectives are that you will be able to describe DS Logon and the benefits of using it;
describe how a DS Logon ID differs from the My HealtheVet Logon;
register or assist a Veteran in registering for a DS Logon Level 2 (Premium) Account;
securely access new VA Mobile apps for health care;
and find resources, help, and additional information related to DS Logon.
Let's talk about DS Logon.
The DS Logon function is managed by the Department of Defense (DOD), not VA.
If you were discharged from the service after 1982, you should have received your DS Logon
upon discharge.
If you do not have a DS Logon, you will need to apply for it.
If you know your DS Logon, but do not know your password, there is a process to renew it.
You may be thinking "Why can't I just use My HealtheVet?"
To understand the difference between DS Logon and My HealtheVet, it's important to examine
briefly how an evolving Internet has changed the way Veterans access and VA provides
health care records.
Why not just use MyHealtheVet?
My HealtheVet has been a powerful online PC tool used by veterans and caregivers
to view and coordinate health care and health maintenance activities.
additionally, smart phones and tablets have become the go-to devices for quick access.
For that reason, VA created mobile apps to provide Veterans with another option for using
some of My HealtheVet's most popular features.
A My HealtheVet Logon can access MyHealtheVet, but the DS Logon is needed to access these
new mobile apps, and soon the My HealtheVet website will also use the DS Logon.
VA Mobile Apps designed for specific health issues include Preconception Care,
Mobile Kidney, and Pressure Ulcer Resource.
To provide convenience to Veterans while protecting their privacy, there are two kinds of DS Logon
accounts.
A DS Logon Level 1 (Basic) Account provides limited access to features on some websites
- for instance, looking up VA benefits on the VA website.
DS Logon Level 1 (Basic) Account is not needed to access VA Mobile Apps that offer general
information.
But a DS Logon Level 2 (Premium) Account is required to access any VA Mobile App that
connects to VA's Electronic Health Record (EHR).
With a Premium Account you can view your personal data, apply for benefits online, check claims
status, update address records, and access over 55 self-service features.
There are already many apps for Veterans to use without a DS Logon, but in order to use
the ones that display your personal or protected health information you must have a secure
user ID and password.
A DS Logon is the secure identity used to access various DoD and VA websites, including
eBenefits and VA Mobile apps.
And, your DS Logon must be a Level 2 (Premium) Account.
You will know these apps by the padlock symbol on the lower right.
You are eligible for a DS Logon Account of either level if you're enrolled in the
Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS).
(If you are not enrolled in DEERS, call 1-800-983-0937 and when prompted, choose Option 2.)
Once again, if you were discharged after 1982, you should already be registered in DEERS.
To verify a DS Logon Level 2 (Premium) Account, or to register for one, visit My Access Center
site (https://myaccess.dmdc.osd.mil).
If there is no DS Logon Level 2 (Premium) Account on record, My Access Center is the
site to register for one.
From a desktop computer, smartphone, or tablet, when you launch an app that processes your
PII or PHI, the DS Logon screen appears.
Click the MORE DS LOGON OPTIONS button, shown here.
If you do not have a DS Logon Level 2 (Premium) Account the choices under MORE DS LOGON OPTIONS
will allow you to start the registration process there.
If you know you don't have a DS Logon Level 2 (Premium) Account, visit My Access Center
site (https://myaccess.dmdc.osd.mil) to register for one.
Click the MORE DS LOGON OPTIONS button, shown here.
Three options appear: Need, Activate, or Upgrade You would then select the option that best
suits your situation, and proceed from there.
Let's talk about Remote Proofing.
The registration process requires an applicant's identity to be authenticated through a process
called Remote Proofing.
During the Remote Proofing Quiz, you will have four minutes to select answers and submit.
If you answer incorrectly, another question will be asked.
If you are unable to answer the questions after two attempts, you will not be able to
continue.
You will have to wait 72 hours before you can attempt again.
The Remote Proofing process asks questions that may seem personal and even confusing.
This sample question asks "Which service company holds your mortgage?"
With possible answers listed "Fannie Mae", "Wells Fargo", "Goldman Sachs", and "None of the Above".
If you are an applicant, during Remote Proofing, you may be asked what company
holds your mortgage.
or like this proofing question, you may be asked ask the name of the service company,
not the mortgage holder.
The service company may not be listed on your mortgage statement.
But in this example, if you select the organization named on your mortgage statement, the answer
you believe to be correct may actually be incorrect.
It is extremely important to understand that the remote identity proofing process intentionally
includes "trick questions", the only answer to which might be "none of the above".
This is a very important part of blocking fraudulent users.
For example, as shown here, you may be asked "Which of these cars did you EVER own?"
With possible answers listed as "Ford", "Nissan", "Toyota", and "None of the Above."
If you determine that none of the options listed applies to you, please answer accordingly.
Remote Proofing questions were designed to factor in the importance of protecting a patient's
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI) in
the ever-expanding digital environment.
VA places the highest priority on complying with strict federal requirements governing
the security of PII and PHI, which include laws such as the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic
and Clinical Health Act (HITECH).
Answering Remote Proofing questions may take some effort and patience.
Please understand that it's worth it.
A DS Logon Level 2 Account will allow you to access your PII and PHI in the most secure
way possible.
The Remote Proofing process conducted during DS Logon Level 2 registration will enable
VA to protect your privacy from security breach and your identity from theft.
The Registration Wizard's interface will guide you through the process, step by step.
The personal information you enter must match the information in DEERS, which is a database
that contains information for each uniformed Servicemember.
(If you are not enrolled in DEERS, call 1-800-983-0937 and when prompted, choose Option 2.)
There are multiple resources available to provide support and troubleshooting assistance.
The DS Logon Education App helps Veterans learn about DS Logon Accounts.
It answers FAQs such as how to recover a forgotten DS Logon username or password and how to upgrade
from a Level 1 (Basic) to a Level 2 (Premium) Account.
The DS Logon Education App explains proofing and how to validate credentials, and enables
troubleshooting DS Logon issues.
Access the DS Logon Education App from the VA App Store: https://mobile.va.gov/app/ds-logon-education.
My Access Center is a DS Logon Self-Service Site: https://myaccess.dmdc.osd.mil.
Click the Help Center button at the top right.
The VA Mobile site has a DS Logon page (https://mobile.va.gov/dslogon), which includes an overview of the DS Logon
Level 2 Premium Account and links to My Access Center and the VA App Store.
A DS Logon tutorial video is available on YouTube.
Although the video was produced by eBenefits, the information on how to acquire your DS
Logon is accurate, because the DS logon works to access your benefit information, as well
as your health records.
See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szbYUKhbB7A.
The Mobile App Service Desk is available Weekdays 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. (CT).
Phone (877) 470-5947.
They are experts at assisting Veterans and Caregivers with DS Logon issues.
So, in review, these are all of the places you can get help with obtaining a DS Logon:
DEERS, at 1-800-983-0987, choose Option 2
DS Logon Education App at https://mobile.va.gov/app/ds-logon-education
The Access Center webpage at https://myaccess.dmdc.osd.mil
VA Mobile DS Logon web page at mobile.va.gov/dslogon
eBenefits DS Logon tutorial video on YouTube.
and The Mobile App Service Desk at (877) 470-5947
In summary, during this lesson, you learned to: describe DS Logon and the benefits of using it;
describe how a DS Logon ID differs from the My HealtheVet Logon;
register or assist a Veteran in registering
for a DS Logon Level 2 (Premium) Account;
securely access new VA Mobile Apps for health care;
and find resources, help, and additional information related to DS Logon.
You have completed the training on "Using DS Logon to Access Secure VA Mobile Apps".