Veterans are living in an era of communications miracles. Telehealth is a tool Veterans Affairs (VA) uses to consult remotely with rural patients. They’re even teleconsulting to prepare transitioning Veterans for employment outside the Armed Forces. But telehealth isn’t just a high-tech phone call as They are also diagnosing patients remotely.
For example, diabetes is a disease that makes it harder for the body to deliver blood to the extremities. It can lead to sores and painful ulcers in the feet. As these ulcers develop, they cause temperature variations in the foot. Today, VA can monitor these temperature variations with a telehealth connection. Last year, VA spent $3.2 billion treating diabetic foot ulcers. Now VA can improve patients’ lives by detecting them earlier and directing treatment.
VA has decades of experience treating patients with limited mobility and spinal injuries. The VA unveiled the first powered anklefoot prosthetic, ushering in a new era of increased mobility for Veterans and other disabled Americans. Their robotic exoskeletons have brought mobility to the lives of thousands of Veterans. VA has launched a pilot program to stimulate the spinal cord and hoping to turn the exoskeleton from a mobility device into something that trains injured people to walk again under their own power.
VA is even finding ways to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to more efficiently care for Veterans. they have developed an AI system that can forecast a life-threatening kidney disease in patients. AI is also helping to keep the books. One of our pharmacists in Chicago developed an AI-driven program for the billing of medications that are dispensed to our Veterans. It can make sure medications are billed to the right parties more efficiently than any human can. That means money saved, and more time spent with patients. The VA is using more technology to save lives!