Background: The Veterans
Administration (VA) has been using telehealth to enhance Veteran access to high
quality VA care for over a decade. Clinical video telehealth (CVT) is one such
telehealth tool that allows Veterans the opportunity to be evaluated by
specialists at the Indianapolis VA while they actually remain in their
community (in their local healthcare setting). Such tools are reported to
improve satisfaction by avoiding the need to make the long, stressful, and
often costly trips to the Medical Center. Our goal is to describe the results
of CVT implementation at the Indianapolis VA. Methods: A retrospective review
of the data from 2011-2014 related to the use of CVT at the Indianapolis VA was
undertaken. The data collected during this time period included: the number of
CVT visits per year by specialty, the number of miles in travel avoided per
visit, and patient satisfaction survey data, which are obtained after each
CVT visit. Results: A total of 14,708 Veterans have enrolled in our CVT
telehealth program since 2011. There were 23,267 visits in 2013. 486,170 miles
related to travel were avoided (calculating the number of miles avoided in
travel from home to a local satellite site as compared to having to travel from
home to the Indianapolis VA). At the current Government reimbursement rate of
$0.42/mile, this is expressed in a cost avoidance of $209,053. In total, since
2011, the telehealth CVT program has saved the Government $331,132, a total
of 770,075 miles saved in travel for our Veterans. In addition, the CVT program
has been very well received by our Veterans with an overall satisfaction score
of 96%. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the implementation of CVT is cost
effective and is well received by Veterans. Telehealth modalities such as CVT
are viable options that enhance Veteran satisfaction by decreasing the time
and the costs related to travel while continuing to offer high quality health
care.