VA-Verizon Partnership Enables Unlimited Telehealth Access for Customers

Veterans who are customers of Verizon will have unlimited access to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ (VA) VA Video Connect telehealth app, VA officials announced last week.

Veterans will be able to access VA Video Connect, which uses the cameras on computers, smartphones or tablets, to let Veterans talk and interact with their VA care team over a live, encrypted video stream, anywhere across Verizon’s nationwide 4G LTE network, without incurring data charges, officials noted.

“VA’s telehealth app for streaming live video sessions between patients and healthcare providers is another testament to our shared journey to fully integrated, seamless access to health care for our Veterans, no matter where they live,” VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said in a statement.

Earlier this year, VA officials said that the agency reached a telehealth milestone, achieving more than 1 million video telehealth visits in one fiscal year (FY18), a 19 percent increase in video telehealth visits over the prior year.

According to the VA, from October 2017 through September 2018, Veterans received VA quality care during approximately 2.3 million episodes of telehealth care. About half were video telehealth encounters, which allows real-time interaction between VA care teams and their Veterans in a clinic or at home.

The other half of VA telehealth encounters were not real-time, interactive visits; instead, VA staff monitored, screened, assessed Veteran data (e.g., vital signs, sleep studies, etc.) or images (e.g., skin rash, eye disease, etc.) sent by other VA staff in another VA clinic, or sent by a Veteran or caregiver from home.

Now, veterans who are customers of the telecommunications company, as of June 27, will have unrestricted access to the department’s telehealth app. “We’re proud to deepen our support of Veterans,” said Mike Maiorana, senior vice president, public sector, Verizon. “Regardless of whether they live in city centers or rural areas, veterans should be able to access the VA’s telehealth resources.”