Use of Telehealth to Improve Access to Care at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs During the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season
Use of Telehealth to Improve Access to Care at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs During the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season
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DOI：
10.1017/dmp.2020.88
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发表时间：
2020-04-13
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Dobalian, Aram
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Der-Martirosian, Claudia;Chu, Karen;Dobalian, Aram
目标：这份简短的报告探讨了在2017年3次毁灭性飓风（哈维，艾玛和玛丽亚）期间从亲自护理到美国退伍军人事务部（VA）远程医疗服务的转变。方法：使用VA管理数据分析2017年飓风前30天和飓风后30天3个受飓风影响的VA医疗中心（VAMCs）的远程医疗服务的数量和百分比：休斯顿（德克萨斯州），奥兰多（佛罗里达）和圣胡安（波多黎各）。结果：所有3个VAMC在飓风期间保持开放。对于休斯顿VAMC来说，在哈维之后的第一周，面对面的患者访问量减少，而远程医疗访问量大幅增加。同样，对于Orlando VAMC，在Irma后的1周内，远程医疗的使用大幅增加。就圣胡安VAMC而言，由于多次停电，远程保健的使用多次中断，导致Irma/Maria之后远程保健的使用略有增加。在飓风期间，休斯顿和奥兰多VAMC最常用的远程医疗服务是：初级保健，分诊，心理健康和家庭健康。结论：远程保健有可能改善灾后获得和协调护理的机会。然而，需要更多的信息来更好地了解远程保健服务如何用作灾后保健提供工具，特别是对于在VA等系统之外接受护理的患者。
Objectives:This brief report examines the shift from in-person care to US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) telehealth services during 3 devastating hurricanes in 2017 (Harvey, Irma, and Maria). Methods:VA administrative data were used to analyze the number and percentage of telehealth services 30 d pre- and 30 d post- the 2017 hurricanes for 3 hurricane-impacted VA medical centers (VAMCs): Houston (Texas), Orlando (Florida), and San Juan (Puerto Rico). Results:All 3 VAMCs remained open during the hurricanes. For the Houston VAMC, during the first week post-Harvey, in-person patient visits decreased while telehealth visits increased substantially. Similarly, for the Orlando VAMC, during the 1-wk post-Irma, telehealth use increased substantially. For the San Juan VAMC, there were many interruptions in the use of telehealth due to many power outages, resulting in a modest increase in the use of telehealth post-Irma/Maria. The most commonly used telehealth services at Houston and Orlando VAMCs during the hurricanes were: primary care, triage, mental health, and home health. Conclusions:Telehealth has the potential to improve post-disaster access to and coordination of care. However, more information is needed to better understand how telehealth services can be used as a post-disaster health-care delivery tool, particularly for patients receiving care outside of systems such as VA.