My HealtheVet, the online patient portal for military veterans to review and manage their Veterans Affairs-provided health care, is also a care provider of sorts for the site's medical professionals.
"Through My HealtheVet, Veterans can review and manage their VA appointments, refill their VA prescriptions, exchange secure messages with their VA providers and more," the VA states in a June 18 online article about the portal's benefits. Two healthcare professionals with the Central Alabama VA spoke about their experiences interacting with veterans through the My HealtheVet portal and how the veterans in their VA are responding to it.
My HealtheVet Coordinator Sonya Wilson is a 26-year Air Force veteran who said her job allows her to do what she's always wanted to do - work with veterans, which she does every day at CAVA, according to the article. Wilson helps veterans and healthcare providers to create My HealtheVet accounts and to access its services.
“My criteria when I came to VA was, I needed to be in a job that is really going to make a difference for veterans,” Wilson said in the article. “I’m feeling fulfilled every day because I really feel like I make a difference as a My HealtheVet Coordinator.”
Primary care mental-health integration psychologist Dr. Renato Popovic provides initial assessments of the veterans who come to the Central Alabama VA for primary care and are interested in its mental-health services. Early intervention for mental-health issues is imperative for preventing the development of severe symptoms, Popovic said in the article.
Popovic said he uses the My HealtheVet Secure Messaging service to communicate with veteran patients in real time.
“My HealtheVet has been a really great tool," he said in the article. "Getting them session materials and being able to answer questions about some of the things we discuss in our sessions has been key."
The convenience of video telehealth appointments also supports veterans' mental health, according to Popovic. Because the Central Alabama VA services a large area, "telehealth has been a real buy-in for some Veterans who are 30, 40, 50 minutes away,” he said in the article.
Travel burdens aren't the only reason many veterans prefer video appointments to in-person visits to the clinic, according to Popovic. Environmental stressors and PTSD triggers can cause veterans to delay or miss appointments, and the lack of consistent care can cause conditions to worsen, the article reports.
Popovic said in the article that veterans tell him that telehealth technologies such as My HealtheVet enable them to make and keep healthcare appointment if they can do so from the comfort of their homes.
"It’s really helping us meet Veterans where they are and really extend services to even more Veterans who might have felt uncomfortable being at clinics,” Popovic said.
