Madhulika Agarwal on Telehealth at the VHA

Telehealth and telemedicine continue to spread across the VHA. To better understand the importance of telehealth to the VHA, Federal Practitioner recently sat down with Madhulika Agarwal, MD, MPH, the deputy under secretary for health for policy and services. Her responsibility is to lead policy and services development for optimal health care outcomes.

“As you know, VA has long been a pioneer with electronic medical records and with virtual modalities, such as telehealth both in the home and in the community, the use of patient web portals, such as My Health eVet, secure messaging for various apps, kiosks,” Dr. Agarwal told Federal Practitioner , “and we remain on the forefront of developing and utilizing these approaches to enhance health care delivery.”

An edited version of the interview appeared in the July 2015 issue and is available here: The Right Care at the Right Time and in the Right Place: The Role of Technology in the VHA .

[Scroll down to hear the full interview.]

Don't have time to listen to the entire discussion? We understand. Use this guide to skip ahead to the topic that most interests you.

0:25 Why are telehealth initiatives so important to the VHA?

2:32 How is telehealth related to broader VHA goals like the Choice Program?

4:09 What programs best exemplify how telehealth can be done successfully?

6:09 What are the VHA's implementation challenges?

8:49 What are the security and legal issues surrounding telehealth?

9:45 Does telehealth drive clinical services and operations, or do clinical services and operations drive telehealth programs?

10:51 How does the VHA use analytics and data analysis?

12:23 Are there any current pilot programs currently going on that might be expanded?

14:30 Does the VA view telehealth as an opportunity to provide an example for the broader U.S. health care system?

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