VA has made great strides in improving access to specialized cardiology care for Veterans who live in rural communities. Veterans located hundreds of miles away from cardiology specialists have access to high-complexity cardiovascular care through VA’s innovative hub-and-spoke telehealth model. 

Dr. William Fearon is Chief of Cardiology at the Palo Alto VA in California. Although Dr. Fearon and his team are based in Palo Alto, they are currently treating Veterans who live in northern and central California, Nevada, Hawaii, the Philippines and U.S. territories in the Pacific basin.

“For Veterans, where it’s inconvenient to travel all the way to Palo Alto or they don’t have access to technology, they can go to their local VA clinic and meet directly with our providers,” Dr. Fearon explained. “If the Veteran has testing done locally, our providers can meet with them virtually and advise on medical treatments or make arrangements for a procedure that’s not offered locally.”

Read more about TeleCardiology at VA.