VA distributing iPads to Family Caregivers (US)

Back in May 2012 we noted a Veterans Affairs (VA) program for 2013 that would distribute 1,000 iPads to primary caregivers of seriously wounded veterans to facilitate care delivery and data transfer. Then called ‘Clinic-In-Hand’, it is now officially debuting as the Family Caregiver Pilot for caregivers of seriously injured post-9/11 veterans already enrolled in VA’s Family Caregiver Program. The intent is now more clearly focused on reducing caregiver stress, via  pre-loaded apps to share health information, coach patients through chronic pain and PTSD and serve up tools such as reminders and a health journal. A second, the Veteran Appointment Request Web App Pilot, facilitates appointment setting via mobile or desktop PCs for a separate test group of 600 veterans and was launched at the Washington, D.C. VA Medical Center and VA Palo Alto (California) Health Care System. According to EHR Intelligence, if successful it will be rolled out to all patients at these two VA centers with a system rollout in the future–complicated by the fact that every VA center has a different scheduling system. Meanwhile, VA’s VistA and the DOD’s AHLTA still don’t talk to each other. VA integrates mHealth into daily care, gives iPads to vets (EHR Intelligence); VA Mobile Health release (for additional details go to the left hand drop-down menu). Hat tip to Contributing Editor Charles Lowe.