VA’s more than 500 speech-language pathologists and 44 clinical fellows provide care to Veterans of all ages with speech, language, cognitive, voice, and swallowing disorders. Today, over 98% of these health care professionals provide some portion of that care through virtual means, including telehealth, secure messaging, and treatment text reminders from Annie for Veterans.
Video visits enable VA speech-language pathologists to conduct treatment sessions from their office while Veterans are in the comfort of their home. The majority of TeleSpeech appointments, an average of 8,000 per month, are conducted through VA Video Connect, VA’s secure videoconferencing app.
“Interviewing the patient at home or work using video visits helps to better understand the patient’s communication goals,” said Nan Musson, VA’s National Speech Pathology program manager. “It’s never been easier to receive care through VA. There are constantly new innovations and opportunities for Veterans to have access to care through telehealth.”
