Use of Telehealth to Improve Access to Care at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs During the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season

Abstract

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.

Keywords: 2017 hurricane season; Hurricanes Harvey; Irma; Maria; Veterans Affairs (VA); disasters; telecare; telehealth.