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>>NARRATOR: VA's Office of Connected Care extends
access to care for patients and VA care teams by bringing
together VA digital technologies through the web, mobile apps,
telehealth, and other innovative solutions. Through their
seamless and integrated approach, our programs - VA
Telehealth Services, My HealtheVet, VHA Innovation, and
VA Mobile - provide Veterans with technologies that allow
them to manage their health care on their own terms and on their
own schedules.
>>ROLDAN: I believe the VA with the technology has broken all
barriers. We can get there without being there.
>>CARTER: So I think Telehealth is just a very unique vehicle
that stands on top of what health care already is, but it
allows us to extend the reach.
>>DEUTSCH: Clinical video telehealth is the synchronous
live streaming audio-video between a patient and a
provider. So we become an effective tool on the far end of
a camera and still provide that care and allow
that Veteran to be seen.
>>SELVIN: Now that training includes the ability to use the
camera, but also do some patient education, work as more or less
the liaison between the primary care team and the patient.
>>DEUTSCH: The patient is literally seen by their doctor,
but mileage is no longer a concern. And speaking as a
Veteran, we here thank you for your service to us. Being
able to say thank you for the care we receive is unmeasurable.
>>SANTIAGO: When I was depressed, everything was in the
dark side. That's when I met Myrna Torres,
and she helped me an awful lot.
>>TORRES: So I set up a system, where they get a call. And the
call asks them a series of questions regarding their
diagnosis. They answer one for yes, two for no. If it's out
of range, that's when I call the patient. I send the primary
doctors a log of every week's blood pressures so that they
know how the patient is progressing.
>>SANTIAGO: I do my vitals every morning, and I
never did that before. The program was able to give me
direction.
>>TORRES: They have access to care faster, easier,
and they feel that they don't have to go
through this by themselves.
>>SANTIAGO: Now I'm content, and it has a lot to do
with the program. She's like my guardian angel.
>>TORRES: Now he is out there. He's going to his groups.
He is taking transportation by himself, and the quality of life
is much, much better.
>>NARRATOR: After a year of hospitalization, Michael
Franks was daunted by the prospect of living on his own,
until he got help from My HealtheVet and his
Hunter Holmes Maguire VA family.
>>FRANKS: Using My HealtheVet has helped
me so far as I guess convenience. It's made a whole
lot more convenient and easier on my life, because I don't have
a vehicle to drive. So it helps that a whole lot.
>>MCMILLIAN: I think this is something that does definitely
empower our Veterans to be an active participant
in their own health care.
>>ROGERS: My HealtheVet has really been very helpful,
and I've been able to see the Veterans as they start to become
more comfortable in using it and being able
to be more independent.
>>FRANKS: For me, being computer illiterate, the
ease of use is what stands out the most for me.
>>MCMILLIAN: It's big to be able to have that accessibility.
>>FRANKS: With the help of Gwen and Miss Nurse Betty, they gave
me the confidence. When I first started, I couldn't do hardly
any steps. Now I'm doing four out of the five, and I'm looking
forward to getting that fifth one knocked out. If it wouldn't
have been for their guidance and help, I wouldn't be
sitting here.
>>MCMILLIAN: I could not be prouder of him.
He's just a phenomenal story and a remarkable man. To go from
where he was to where he is now is just amazing.
>>FRANKS: If I could do it, anybody could do it.
>>NARRATOR: The VHA Innovation Program allows
critical health care innovations to emerge from the field, evolve
based on constructive and collaborative review, and to be
piloted in a safe harbor environment. The VA Pressure
Ulcer Resource App is a prime example of the integrated nature
of the Office of Connected Care.
>>MCCOY-JONES: So back in probably about 2011, the Office
of Nursing Services started working on the Pressure Ulcer
Handbook, and we were in the process of doing the revision
for the Pressure Ulcer Handbook. We wanted to ensure that we were
looking at every aspect of care and how that would impact the
Veteran, especially the Veteran that didn't have necessarily
easy access to the VA. So one of those things that we looked at
was the innovative awards that the VA was typically doing in
various different areas. So the Office of Nursing Services
gathered experts. They were part of the innovative award process
for selecting and looking at applications and developing how
this was going to move forward. And they decided, you know what?
We want to do a mobile app.
>>SAYLOR: Some of my impressions were, wow. Nobody thought of
this yet? This is a great idea.
>>SPEARS: It's more convenient. It's accessible, and it's easy
to utilize and to find information that I needed.
>>MCCOY-JONES: We wanted to make it innovative but pull in the
caregiver, because it is the only mobile app on the market
for pressure ulcer, pressure injury. That is for the Veteran
and the caregiver, which is huge for providing continuous care to
the Veteran in the home setting.
>>SPEARS: Well, it keeps me on schedule and on track for the
last position he was in and for the medication so that I make
sure that his medications are administered on time.
>>SAYLOR: Well, using the app, for me, it
does relieve a lot of stress, and it's helping me out a lot.
It's helping me to help others.
>>SPEARS: Prior to utilizing the app, I wasn't as diligent with
turning and repositioning him as I am now that I'm
able to utilize the app.
>>JOHNSON: A lot of times, you're trying to explain to a
caregiver how you should be transferred, and you can't find
the right words for it. You can show them a video.
>>SPEARS: I also like the feature that if there's like an
emergency, you can call 911 and different things like that.
>>SAYLOR: It's putting the VA a little bit ahead of the curve.
I don't know of anybody else that's really doing it.
>>MCCOY-JONES: So by having the mobile technologies, it allows a
Veteran to be an active participant in their care.
>>SAYLOR: I saw that there were some other apps on there from
the VA, and I was like, wow. I said, they have a lot more than
what I'm testing here.
>>MCCOY-JONES: And they can look through it at their own pace and
become very comfortable with accessing technology without
being overwhelmed.
>>SAYLOR: It made me happy at a time when I was really
depressed. It gave me something to do. It gave me something to
take my mind off of all the negativity that was going on.
It makes me want to stay with the VA, because it gives me more
faith in the care that I could get from the VA.
>>NARRATOR: By bringing together VA digital health technologies
under one umbrella, the Office of Connected Care is enhancing
health care coordination across VA, supporting Veterans
participation in their own care, and ultimately, helping to
improve Veteran health.
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