Application of Dissemination Science to Implement Interprofessional Telehealth Visits for Veterans
by Edward Portillo, PharmD, Molly Lehmann, PharmD, Britney Youngchild, 2021 PharmD Candidate, Peter Roth, 2021 PharmD Candidate, Caleb Ballweg, 2021 PharmD Candidate
"VA Video Connect (VVC) is a national initiative by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), developed to improve access to care for veterans, using a video-based telehealth modality. This initiative is crucial for providing access to high-quality care for veterans living in rural communities with long drive times to VA facilities, and is even more important in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the benefits of the initiative, site-specific challenges to VVC implementation exist. This evaluation uses core tenets of dissemination and implementation (D&I) science, specifically the Replicating Effective Programs (REP) model, to determine barriers to and facilitators of VVC implementation at a VA clinic in Madison, Wisconsin. Through analysis of VVC implementation, the evaluating authors designed a training package for clinicians, aimed at increasing VVC use during care transitions for veterans. Knowledge gained from expanding VVC has the potential to be applied to other sites across the VA and the private sector to design training aimed at addressing local challenges to telehealth implementation. With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the way care is delivered, this evaluation provides a case example of how dissemination science can be used to promote adoption of telehealth best practices."
Keywords: Veterans, Rural Population, Private Sector, Wisconsin, COVID-19, Patient Transfer, Telemedicine, Implementation Science, Health Services Accessibility
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2021 July/August Table of Contents
"VA Video Connect (VVC) is a national initiative by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), developed to improve access to care for veterans, using a video-based telehealth modality. This initiative is crucial for providing access to high-quality care for veterans living in rural communities with long drive times to VA facilities, and is even more important in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the benefits of the initiative, site-specific challenges to VVC implementation exist. This evaluation uses core tenets of dissemination and implementation (D&I) science, specifically the Replicating Effective Programs (REP) model, to determine barriers to and facilitators of VVC implementation at a VA clinic in Madison, Wisconsin. Through analysis of VVC implementation, the evaluating authors designed a training package for clinicians, aimed at increasing VVC use during care transitions for veterans. Knowledge gained from expanding VVC has the potential to be applied to other sites across the VA and the private sector to design training aimed at addressing local challenges to telehealth implementation. With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the way care is delivered, this evaluation provides a case example of how dissemination science can be used to promote adoption of telehealth best practices."
Keywords: Veterans, Rural Population, Private Sector, Wisconsin, COVID-19, Patient Transfer, Telemedicine, Implementation Science, Health Services Accessibility
Download PDF
2021 July/August Table of Contents