Last year’s summit came at the perfect time, as Congress approved a total of $118.7 billion for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs in FY2023, a 22% increase from the year past, the largest in the history of the VA. Additionally, the VA and healthcare systems across the U.S. were facing the post-covid reality of shifted expectations from patients for more accessible remote care. This increase of funding tied with the patients’ desire for remote services led the VA Healthcare Summit to be the perfect venue for government officials and solutions providers to gather under one roof to determine the best way forward for serving American veterans.

Besides discussions surrounding telehealth and remote care, VA Healthcare Summit also tackled the latest challenges for the VA in areas like IT, EHR modernization, oncology, mental health, prosthetics, recovery, women’s health, and LGBTQ+ health through it’s interactive presentations, case studies and panels.

The 2024 iteration of the event will be the 18th, and this year’s agenda not only looks to build off discussions held in 2023, but broach trending topics in the VA such as a new focus on the successes and challenges of private care via the MISSION Act and Community Care, and specific clinical track sessions on mental health, prosthetics, oncology, telehealth, PX. If you’d like to learn more about some of the topics and esteemed speakers that will be at this year’s event, download the agenda today.

This 2023 post-show report provides the following:

• Attendee testimonials
• Attendee breakdown
• Session summaries

Find out which companies of senior stakeholders, technology experts, industry innovators, clinicians, nurses, and administrators, will be in attendance at VA Healthcare this July!

Understanding how to leverage data to optimize the patient experience has become critical to medical service providers around the world. The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) is responsible for providing over 9 million American veterans with lifelong healthcare services at 170 VA medical centers across the country. Just like any other healthcare provider, the VA is constantly looking to improve the patient experience for its veterans, and one way the department has done that is by enhancing the VA’s feedback capabilities to ensure there is more data available on the patient experience.

IDGA’s VA Healthcare Summit is now in its 19th year and is committed to supporting the VA’s mission, including efforts to improve the patient experience through data. One of the presentations at last year’s event was a panel discussion on patient experience optimization that included Donna Richardson the Customer Experience (CX) Outcomes Supervisor, Tools & Implementation (T&I) Directorate, in the Veterans Experience Office (VEO) as well as Don Prisby, President of Northpoint Advocates. Before the panel discussion, IDGA sat down with Prisby to discuss the value in gathering veteran feedback.

Beyond looking into the uses of data in the patient experience, the 2024 conference also discussed electronic health record systems, digital and mobile healthcare access, and the latest drugs and medical devices improving veteran care.

One of the highest priorities in the U.S. is providing the safety and wellbeing of its veterans. Whether that entails curbing veteran homeless, deterring substance abuse, or providing accessible medical care, the Department of Veterans Affairs is at the forefront of these efforts. One avenue through which the VA continually serves veterans is Prosthetic and Sensory Aid Services (PSAS), which provides devices that support or replace a body part or function.

Penny Nechanicky is the Director of PSAS, the largest provider of prosthetics and sensory aids in the world. In her role, Penny’s responsibilities include oversight and direction of Orthotic and Prosthetic Services, Automobile Adaptive Equipment, Home Improvement and Structural Alterations (HISA) Grant, Clothing Allowance and Service Dog/Guide Dog.

During the 2024 VA Healthcare Summit, Penny provided a full overview of the VA’s core competencies in prosthetics and sensory aids. Before the event, Penny spoke with IDGA about the key focus areas and challenges at PSAS.

When the Covid pandemic began in the U.S. in March 2020, patient care was forced to quickly reimagine itself as hospitals became overcrowded and staff were overstrained. In October 2022 the CDC reported that 37% of U.S. adults use telemedicine, including 43.3% of adults over 65. The Department of Veterans Affairs, which serves over 9 million American veterans has also been proactive in embracing the new era of telehealth. According to the VA, one in three veterans use telehealth capabilities when receiving care from the VA.

With more veterans than ever seeking medical assistance virtually, the VA has had to advance its remote patient care capabilities. In May 2023, the VA announced that four companies have been selected to potentially win an 8-year, $1 billion contract to help the VA roll out systems and supplies for telehealth functions.

This initiative is one of several the VA has committed to in the past decade, and this report will look at what those initiatives are and their effectiveness in providing veterans with virtual care.

The VHA is embarking on a journey to becoming a High-Reliability Organization (HRO). When dealing with fragile health, errors can prove disastrous for the patient and the organization. In this article, a status update on the VHA journey to becoming an HRO is delivered.