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Care Coordination Services - Telehealth

Telehealth

Patient with DoctorTelehealth is the delivery of health-related services and information via telecommunications technologies. Telehealth delivery could be as simple as two health professionals discussing a case over the telephone, or as sophisticated as using videoconferencing to between providers at facilities in two countries, or even as complex as robotic technology.

Telehealth is an expansion of telemedicine, and unlike telemedicine (which more narrowly focuses on the curative aspect) it encompasses preventive, promotive and curative aspects. Telehealth was originally used to describe administrative or educational functions related to telemedicine, today telehealth stresses a myriad of technology solutions.

The Office of Care Coordination Services is focusing on three telehealth modalities.

Telehealth has been becoming increasingly popular with veterans because it provides greater access to medical care. Either by reducing the amount of travel required or by providing an instant link from the home to medical centers or Community Based Outpatient Clinic's (CBOC).

General (real-time) TelehealthGeneral Telehealth

In real-time telehealth, a telecommunications link allows instantaneous interaction. Video-conferencing equipment is one of the most common forms of synchronous telemedicine. Peripheral devices can also be attached to computers or the video-conferencing equipment which can aid in an interactive examination. (More)

Home TelehealthHome Telehealth

Uses a variety of home telehealth technologies to monitor selected patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, PTSD and depression. It proactively identifies symptoms, behaviors and health factors that enable care/case management and patient self-management to operate in consort to reduce emergency care visits, hospitalization and long-term institutional care resources. (More)

Store-and-Forward Telehealth - Teleretinal ImagingStore-and-Forward Telehealth

Uses the asynchronous transfer of clinical data, clinical images, full-motion video and special investigations from one site to another for the purpose for rendering a medical opinion or diagnosis. Common examples of these telehealth/eHealth encounters are radiology, pathology, dermatology, ophthalmology, and wound care. (More)