Use of mobile applications and mental health services among veterans who received internet-connected tablets.

Objectives: Among Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients receiving internet-connected tablets, we examined (1) app usage, (2) clusters of commonly used apps and patient characteristics across clusters, and (3) the relationship between app clusters and mental health services.

Materials And Methods: A survey was distributed to a national sample of VHA patients ( = 5449) within 6 months of tablet receipt. Self-reported app use was clustered with agglomerative hierarchical clustering.

Patient-, Provider-, and Facility-Level Contributors to the Use of Cardiology Telehealth Care in the Veterans Health Administration: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Telehealth (care delivered by phone or video) comprises a substantial proportion of cardiology care delivered in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Little is known about how factors specific to patients, clinicians, and facilities contribute to variation in cardiology telehealth use.

Objective: The aim of this study is to estimate the relative extent to which patient-, clinician-, and facility-level factors affect cardiology telehealth use in VHA.

Comparing Federal Communications Commission and Microsoft Estimates of Broadband Access for Mental Health Video Telemedicine Among Veterans: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of telemedicine in health care. However, video telemedicine requires adequate broadband internet speeds. As video-based telemedicine grows, variations in broadband access must be accurately measured and characterized.

Research Priorities to Expand Virtual Care Access for Patients in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System.

The rapid expansion of virtual care is driving demand for equitable, high-quality access to technologies that are required to utilize these services. While the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seen as a national leader in the implementation of telehealth, there remain gaps in evidence about the most promising strategies to expand access to virtual care. To address these gaps, in 2022, the VA's Health Services Research and Development service and Office of Connected Care held a "state-of-the-art" (SOTA) conference to develop research priorities for advancing the science, clinical practice, and implementation of virtual care.

Overcoming Obstacles: Barriers to Virtual Care Use Among Video-Enabled Tablet Recipients in the Veterans Health Administration.

Introduction: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) distributes video-enabled tablets to individuals with barriers to accessing care. Data suggests that many tablets are under-used. We surveyed Veterans who received a tablet to identify barriers that are associated with lower use, and evaluated the impact of a telephone-based orientation call on reported barriers and future video use.

Opportunities to Enhance the Implementation of Veterans Affairs Video-Based Care: Qualitative Perspectives of Providers from Diverse Specialties.

Background: Increasing the adoption of digital care tools, including video visits, is a long-term goal for the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). While previous work has highlighted patient-specific barriers to the use of video visits, few have examined how clinicians view such barriers and how they have overcome them during the rapid uptake of web-based care.

Objective: This study sought input from providers, given their role as critical participants in video visit implementation, to qualitatively describe successful strategies providers used to adapt their practices to a web-based care setting.

Variation in initial and continued use of primary, mental health, and specialty video care among Veterans.

Objective: To identify which Veteran populations are routinely accessing video-based care.

Data Sources And Study Setting: National, secondary administrative data from electronic health records at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), 2019-2021.

Study Design: This retrospective cohort analysis identified patient characteristics associated with the odds of using any video care; and then, among those with a previous video visit, the annual rate of video care utilization.

Cost-Related Access Barriers, Medical Debt, and Dissatisfaction with Care Among Privately Insured Americans.

Background: Understanding experiences with private important to improving the quality of health care coverage.

Objective: To examine the association of health with cost-related access barriers, medical debt, and dissatisfaction with care among privately insured Americans.

Design: We classified Americans with private insurance by self-reported health status into five groups (excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor health).