VA Teams Up with Organizations to Offer Video Appointment Locations

The VA Office of Strategic Partnerships, in collaboration with VHA Telehealth Services and the ATLAS team, has teamed up with public and private organizations in the community, including:

Walmart: Five Walmart locations are offering private rooms for Veterans to have video appointments during a 12-month ATLAS pilot beginning in Fall 2019.
Veteran Service Organizations: Veterans of Foreign Wars and The American Legion are offering VA telehealth care at select locations throughout the country using telehealth equipment donated by Philips.

Initial ATLAS sites help inform best practices and enable VA to define the processes that make these telehealth access points successful. The ATLAS team has developed guidance and necessary agreements for locations to easily set up an ATLAS site.

Approximately one third of Veterans we serve live in rural areas. They must often must drive great distances to receive their care at the VA.

What Clinical Services Can Veterans Receive at ATLAS Sites?

The local VA facility ultimately determines which clinical services an ATLAS site offers.
ATLAS sites offer health care services that don’t require hands-on exams. These services may include, but are not limited to, primary care, mental health counseling, clinical pharmacy, nutrition services, and social work.
No assisted physical exam or “telepresentation” is offered in the initial phase.
Veterans’ personal peripheral devices (e.g., Bluetooth stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs) may be used for these encounters, but no clinical equipment is present at ATLAS sites.
No VA employees are based at ATLAS sites. However, an ATLAS site may have employees or volunteers present to assist Veterans with their telehealth encounter.

Ensuring Quality of Care and Experience

VA strives to ensure high quality care at ATLAS sites. VA researchers look at the provider and Veteran experiences, measures of access (e.g., change in missed/cancelled appointments), clinical outcomes (e.g., completed course of mental health care, diabetes management), and cost savings (e.g., related to travel).

ATLAS Expansion and Future Sites

Selection of ATLAS sites are prioritized based on:

Travel time to VA facilities
Veteran population
Limited broadband availability

Future ATLAS collaborations include the Health Resources and Services Administration, the U.S. Department of Defense, and colleges and universities.

Interested in teaming up? Please contact atlas@va.gov