REHABILITATION OUTCOMES RESEARCH CENTER
FOR VETERANS WITH NEUROLOGICAL IMPAIRMENT
(RORC)
ORH – Sponsored Initiative to Deliver in-Home TeleRehabilitation
Gets National Award
Rural Veterans Tele-Rehabilitation Systems Redesign Team From L-to-R: Bill Mann,
Diane Cowper-Ripley, Charles E. Levy, David Omura, Huanguang Jia
(not pictured: Paul M. Hoffman, Nick Ross, Steve Moore, Thomas A. Cappello)
The Rural Veterans Tele-Rehabilitation Initiative (RVTRI) Team from the North Florida/South Georgia Healthcare System (NF/SGVHS) won a VHA Systems Redesign Champion Award in the Outpatient Category in a recent competition. Under the leadership of Dr. Charles E. Levy, Chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service (PMRS) at NF/SGVHS, the initiative utilizes telehealth technology to deliver physical, occupational, and recreational therapies directly to rural patients in their homes through real-time, two-way video. These therapies help Veterans maximize their functional abilities so they can increase their quality of life and live as independently as possible.
The RVTRI uses Tandberg E 20 videophones that are placed in Veterans’ homes and connected to VA therapists, physiatrists, and other healthcare providers by a secure, encrypted Internet network. At the appointed time, the provider at the medical center receives and accepts the incoming “call” from the Veteran. “Both the Veteran and the provider are able to interact as if they were in person,” says Dr. Levy. He added, “The NF/SGVHS covers territory roughly the size of West Virginia. With the RVTRI, distance no longer matters; I can reach Veterans wherever they are.”
“With over 2000 encounters I am pleased to say our initial quality measures are looking quite good” states Dr. Levy. “Comparison of initial to discharge scores on a number of measures shows significant positive change.” In the first year of the demonstration project, rehabilitation care has been delivered to 40 out of 137 rural zip codes. The average Veteran being served lives 93 miles away and receives 7 visits. Some Veterans, such as those who have long lasting combat-related cognitive impairments are followed indefinitely.
Besides saving travel time and parking frustration for the Veteran, significant financial savings are being realized by the VA, all while delivering the same high quality care. Of course the critical measure is patient satisfaction, which is also rated near the top of the scale. Veterans who participated in the RVTRI reported high rates of satisfaction in several aspects of the program, including overall quality of the service delivered, wait times, times spent with the provider, privacy, and video and audio quality.
This project, funded by the VHA Office of Rural Health (ORH) and supported by the Veterans Rural Health Resource Center - Eastern Region (VRHRC-ER), will be expanding to rural Veterans served by the White River Junction (Vermont) VA Medical Center in 2012. Source: http://www.ruralhealth.va.gov/highlight/highlight_eastern_rehabaward.asp
Our primary research focus is to evaluate rehabilitation programs and interventions that result in optimal patient outcomes. Research is organized thematically around three key areas of inquiry:
- Access
- Innovations and Technology
- Outcomes
ACCESS: To improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and distribution of health care services for Veterans challenged by disability and limited access to health related services. This goal is achieved by conducting research on access, utilization, cost, quality, and outcomes across the continuum of health care.
INNOVATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY: To improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and distribution of health care services for Veterans by developing innovative programs and conducting research on smart technology and tele-health approaches.
OUTCOMES: To improve Veteran and caregiver outcomes by: 1) advancing measurement through the development of efficient, precise and integrated measures, 2) integrating Veterans’ families into their care, and 3) enhancing community/family reintegration post-deployment.
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