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VA Data show Home
Health Technology improves access to care
WASHINGTON (Jan. 5, 2009) - Veterans with chronic
conditions can manage their health and avoid
hospitalization by using special technology
provided by the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) in their homes, according to a
recent study.
"The study showed that home telehealth makes
health care more effective because it
improves patients' access to care and is
easy to use," said Secretary of Veterans
Affairs Dr. James B. Peake.
"A real plus is that this approach to care can be
sustained because it's so cost-effective
and more veteran-centric.
"Patients in rural areas are increasingly
finding that telehealth improves their
access to health care and promotes their
ongoing relationship with our health care
system."
The study found a 25 percent reduction in
the average number of days hospitalized and
a 19 percent reduction in hospitalizations
for patients
using home telehealth.
The data also show that for some patients the
cost of telehealth services in their homes
averaged $1,600 a year - much lower than
in-home clinician care costs.
The authors of the study in the current
issue of the journal Telemedicine and
e-Health are VA national telehealth staff
members. The study looked at health
outcomes from 17,025 VA home telehealth
patients.
VA's home telehealth program cares for
35,000 patients and is the largest of its
kind in the world.
Clinicians and managers in health care systems, as
well as information technology
professionals, have been awaiting the
results of the telehealth study, said Dr.
Adam Darkins, chief consultant in VA's care
coordination program, who led the study.
"The results are not really about the
technology, but about how using it helps
coordinate the full scope of care our
patients need," said
Darkins.
"It permits us to give the right care in the right
place at the right time."
VA's Under Secretary for Health, Dr. Michael
J. Kussman, said the key to the program's
success is VA's computerized patient record
system.
"Data obtained from the home such as blood
pressure and blood glucose, along with other
patient information in the electronic
system, allows our health care teams to
anticipate and prevent avoidable problems,"
he said.
VA health care officials emphasize that home
telehealth does not necessarily replace
nursing home care or traditional care but
can help veterans understand and manage
chronic conditions such as diabetes,
hypertension and chronic heart failure.
Patients' partnership with the medical team can
delay the need for institutional care and
maintain independence for an extended time.
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