VA Telehealth Programs Show Strong Growth, Satisfaction, and Health Benefits

The COVID-19 pandemic brought national attention to telehealth services as a way for patients to safely meet with medical professionals. Driven by the need for remote care, physicians saw a jump in telehealth usage from 15.4% in 2019 to 86.5% in 2021. If patients were unaware of telehealth services pre-pandemic, by 2021, the vast majority of Americans were using it as a primary care modality.

For the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), telehealth had been a focus area since 2004. With almost 30% of its patients living in rural or highly rural areas where healthcare resources are less accessible, telehealth ensures the department can provide physician assistance to veterans living in some of the hardest-to-reach places in the country.

Telehealth initiatives have been a critical resource to the VA, and in this report, we’ll look at the latest statistics and case studies that demonstrate how telehealth is delivering the care veterans need.

For the past 20 years, IDGA’s Veterans Healthcare Summit has been providing the VA and its partners an opportunity to gather and discuss some of the challenges in providing American veterans with the healthcare they need. To learn how IDGA will support veterans' healthcare at this year’s event, visit this year’s event website.