Across the United States Government, no priority is more imperative than providing the highest-quality care to our nation’s Veterans, and the Department of Veterans Affairs is responsible for providing healthcare services to over 9 million veterans, making it the largest integrated healthcare network in the US.

IDGA recognizes the VA finds itself at a critical moment having to meet the challenges of the pandemic, shifting demographics, and the winding down of the Global War on Terror. For the past 18 years the VA Healthcare Summit has provided healthcare professionals an opportunity to discuss these changes as well as efforts to deliver telehealth and virtual care, electronic health records systems, and the use of new drugs and surgeries to VA care.

On July 23-24, over 700 attendees including VA clinicians, nurses and administrators as well as senior stakeholders, technology experts, and industry innovators, gathered in Arlington, Virginia to learn, share, and connect with our nation’s veterans to improve health outcomes, care access, and delivery. This report will highlight some of the takeaways from attendees and summarize important discussions held during the conference.

IDGA was thrilled to host the 18th annual VA Healthcare Summit at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Virginia, USA last July (23-24, 2024).

VA Healthcare Summit 2024 brought together over 500 senior leaders, clinicians, nurses, administrators, and technology professionals from across the veterans' healthcare sector, to share ideas and strategies, network and collaborate on delivering the highest-quality care to the nation's veterans.

Take a look at the 2024 attendee list to see who you could meet at this year's VA Healthcare Summit >>

Don Prisby has been a foundational piece of IDGA's VA Healthcare Summit for the past seven years. He has attended as a participant, speaker, chair, and co-presenter during that time. He has spoken on topics ranging from “Opioid Abuse and Diversion Mitigation” and “Hospitality and Healthcare” to “The Economic, Moral and Anthropological Motivations for Service Excellence.” Don has sourced and referred clinical and executive speakers for other VA conferences sponsored by IDGA and has previously served as a Chair of the Process Excellence Conference in Washington, DC.

At this year's summit, Don will serve as Track Chair for the Patient Experience and Mental Health Blocs, where he will moderate panel discussions on those topics with representatives from the VA and industry. Before Don arrives in D.C this July, he joined IDGA for the following webinar to discuss conversations he's anticipating at this year's event, the on-site experience, and much more.

The Department of Veteran Affairs’ (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) healthcare program provides more than 9 million American veterans healthcare through its 1,255 healthcare facilities. As the largest integrated healthcare network in the U.S., the VHA faces the tall order of managing the health records of millions of veterans.

This report looks at the value Electronic Health Records (EHR) provide the VA and provides a timeline of the agency's efforts to implement EHR across its healthcare network.

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.

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.

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.