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VA’s Office of Connected Care (OCC) is responsible for the health care system’s digital health strategy and focuses on improving care through technology that engages Veterans and VA care team members outside of traditional encounters. The Office comprises multiple programs, including VA Telehealth Services, VA Mobile, and My HealtheVet.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has driven rapid adoption of many technologies in the OCC portfolio, implementation challenges are still pervasive, and evidence for their effectiveness in specific contexts of care and with specific subsets of the Veteran population is still needed. Each year, OCC supports rapid quality improvement (QI) and evaluation projects that align with their priorities and can help advance their mission.
Current and past OCC RFA funded projects include:
Current Projects |
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Title |
PI(s) |
OCC Liaisons |
Initial Year |
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A comparison of the Virtual Care Manager PGHD System to the GTS Virtual Health Platform for Veterans with Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders (SCI/D) |
Lisa Burkhart |
Terry Newton; Cathy Buck |
FY23 |
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Measuring Physical Function With Video Telehealth Technology |
Helen Hoenig |
Leonie Heyworth; Sara DeRycke |
FY23 |
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A Mobile Virtual Health Resource Center-Plus Pilot to Address Multiple Digital Access Barriers Among Rural Veterans |
Ashok Reddy & Leah Marcotte |
Nancy Wilck; Christy Armstrong |
FY23 |
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Improving adherence to colorectal cancer screening and abnormal fecal immunochemical test follow up using a novel Annie application across VISN 2 |
Aasma Shaukat |
Nancy Wilck |
FY23 |
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Examining disparities in the access to and engagement of virtual T2DM care among Black and Hispanic Veterans |
Rebecca Kinney |
Leonie Heyworth; Cathy Cruise |
FY23 |
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Finding the Right Mix: Establishing the Optimal Ratio of Virtual to In-Person Care Among Veterans with Diabetes |
Charlie Wray & Jacqueline Ferguson |
Leonie Heyworth; Maia Carter |
FY23 |
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Feasibility and acceptability of using consumer wearables in a self-monitoring program for promoting patient activation and engagement among Veterans prescribed non-PAP therapy for obstructive sleep apnea |
Constance Fung, Garrett Ash, & Selene Mak |
Terry Newton; Sara Derycke |
FY23 |
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Evaluating and Improving Access to Virtual Anesthesia Care: Identifying Veterans preferences for preprocedural evaluation and optimization, and Providers perceptions about Value |
Sesh Mudumbai, Karthik Raghunathan, Atilio Barbeito |
Leonie Heyworth |
FY23 |
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VVC Vitals Evaluation |
Lynn Garvin |
Leonie Heyworth |
FY22 |
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Virtual Diabetes Optimization Program (VDOP); A Multidisciplinary Remote Intervention for Veterans with Uncontrolled Diabetes |
Carlos Mendez, Jeff Whittle, & Jeffrey L Jackson |
Nilesh Shah |
FY22 |
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Maximizing the Value of Sharing PGHD with HealthCare Providers in the Setting of Weight Management at the Veterans Administration |
Melanie Jay, Anne Dembitzer, & Omar El-Shahawy |
Nilesh Shah |
FY22 |
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The Use and Improvement of My VA Images for Amputee Rehabilitation Asynchronized Telehealth Care |
Mary Matsumoto & Patricia Young |
Sara Derycke |
FY22 |
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Understanding the Impacts of COVID-19 on Specialty Care Telehealth Uptake, sustainability, and downstream Outcomes |
Megan Adams & Allison Lin |
Leonie Heyworth, Sara Derycke, Pauline Anderson, Padraic McVeigh |
FY21 |
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>Development and implementation of Virtual Home-based cardiac rehabilitation in Older Veterans |
Amit Shah & Linda Park |
Pauline Anderson, John Murphy, Patricia Young |
FY21 |
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Leveraging rapid COVID-driven telehealth expansion to optimize delivery of in-person and virtual services in VA primary care |
Claudia Der-Martirosian & Lucinda Leung |
Leonie Heyworth, Maia Carter |
FY21 |
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Super Users’ Best Practices for Coordinating Specialty Care: Creating A Culture for Proactive Integrated Use of Virtual Resources |
Jolie Haun |
Rhonda Johnston, Sara Derycke |
FY21 |
Past OCC RFA funded projects:
Past Projects |
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Title |
PI(s) |
OCC Liaisons |
Initial Year |
|
Tele Pre-Op Anesthesia Demonstration Project |
Atilio Barbeito & Seshadri Mudumbai |
Leonie Heyworth |
FY21 |
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Understanding and overcoming the digital divide in specialty care following the onset of COVID-19 |
Evan Carey |
Leonie Heyworth, Emily Drucker |
FY21 |
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Virtual Shared Medical Appointments: Enhancing the Patient and Caregiver Experience |
Sherry Ball |
Aaron Steele, Pauline Anderson |
FY21 |
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Partnering with Caregivers to Ensure Access to VA Video Connect Visits for Veterans with Complex Care Needs: A Mixed Methods Investigation |
Megan Gately |
Rhonda Johnston, Carla Anderson |
FY21 |
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Evaluation and Improvement of the SAIL Metric: Identifying and Mitigating Barriers to Virtual Care Among Veterans at High Risk for Suicide |
Gala True |
Claire Marty, Kendra Weaver, Jessica Walker, Joseph Gutmann |
FY21 |
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Assessing changes in delivery and utilization of telehealth between VAMCs and State Veterans' Nursing Homes due to COVID-19 pandemic to inform future utilization, scalability, and adoption of telehealth modalities |
Leah Haverhals |
Leonie Heyworth, Lesly Roose, Valarie Delanko |
FY21 |
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Efficacy of tele-initiation of positive airway pressure in obstructive sleep apnea |
Kathleen Sarmiento & Michelle Zeidler |
Sara Derycke |
FY21 |
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Optimizing Telemedicine: Using Standardized Patients to Assess and Train Providers in Digital Communication and Use of Technology |
Anne Dembitzer & Melanie Jay |
Rhonda Johnston |
FY21 |
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Assessing VA Health Disparities in Telehealth Use During the Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic |
Taona Haderlein |
Christina Armstrong, Shelby Smout, Leslyann Roose, Nancy Wilck |
FY20 |
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Broadband Access as a Social Determinant of Health: The Association of Broadband Access with Changes in Use of Primary Care and Mental Health Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
Amy O’Shea |
Leonie Heyworth, Leslyann Roose |
FY20 |
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Improving care coordination through the use of home pulse oximeters for COVID-19 patients |
Chelsea Leonard |
Derek Juang, Ryan Schulteis, John Murphy |
FY20 |
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Patient Use Characteristics of VA Telehealth Services and Impact on Quality of Care during COVID-19 |
Paul Krebs, Melanie Jay, & Omar El Shahawy |
Leonie Heyworth, Whitney Cone |
FY20 |
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A Mixed-Methods Investigation of High and Low Adoption of VA Video Connect (VVC) for Mental Healthcare During COVID-19 |
Ursula Myers |
Christina Armstrong, Whitney Cone, John Murphy |
FY20 |
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Tele-rehabilitation for Medically Complex Veterans During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Feasibility Study and Program Evaluation |
Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley |
Brian Vetter, Deyne Bentt, Lesli Culver, John Murphy |
FY20 |
