During the early phases of the pandemic, the VA saw significant increases in its telehealth usage, patient encounters with the MyHealthyVet patient portal and demand for its automated text-messaging bot, Annie. Based on these shifts, it also developed a slew of new apps, platforms, policies and clinical competencies. These tools include the COVID Coach app, chatbot,and updated Annie.
Roughly two-thirds of VA providers had conducted a telehealth visit before the pandemic, but since, nearly all (94%) of them are using telehealth. Training its healthcare providers on how to conduct virtual care appointments and use its new technology was another critical undertaking for the VA.
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