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Technology

Telehealth Director Delivers Senate Testimony

  • Federal News Network
  • Apr 29, 2021

On April 28, 2021, Dr. Kevin Galpin, Connected Care Executive Director of Telehealth Services, testified before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, alongside Dr. Steven L. Lieberman, Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Health, and Mr. Jack Galvin, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary of OIT Development, Security and Operations.

The hearing's purpose was to examine the VA Telehealth program, focusing on leveraging recent investments to build future capacity. Following their remarks, Federal News Network posted an article covering their testimony on VA Telehealth's response to the pandemic and upcoming 5-year strategic plan. Some of the data points shared in the article include:

  • VA telehealth appointments increased by 1,831% between January 2020 and 2021.
  • In January 2020, the department facilitated about 41,000 telehealth appointments. By April 2020, Veterans used telehealth for more than 393,000 appointments. A year later in March 2021, the number had climbed to 965,000 virtual appointments.
  • To facilitate virtual appointments, VA has distributed more than 48,000 web cams to VA providers and more than 84,000 iPads directly to Veterans.

Watch the Senate hearing online, and read the Federal News Network article.