Helping Vets Get eHealthy

As VA North Texas Health Care System continues to advance health care, new treatment options are not the only innovations helping veterans and their families. My HealtheVet, a personal health record for veterans, is breathing life into VA’s goal of transforming health care delivery through health informatics.

VA North Texas is pleased to introduce secure messaging through VA’s web portal My HealtheVet. This new technology, now taking place at Dallas, Bonham, Fort Worth, Polk Street Annex and Tyler, allows veteran patients to email their health care team for non-urgent issues. Patients and providers alike are raving about this encrypted form of e-communication.  It’s convenient and it allows veterans to receive a personal and efficient way to communicate virtually.  Secure messaging tends to be faster than phone calls, and it helps improve coordination of care.  By and large, it’s a quality of life improvement that VA North Texas is proud to offer its veteran patients.

My HealtheVet enrollment begins with a simple process. A patient goes on the web to www.myhealth.va.gov to register on My HealtheVet. The process continues with another simple, but important step. Veterans must complete IPA (In-Person Authentication) in order to solidify the process. This added measure of security helps providers make certain they are treating the right patient. Once a veteran is enrolled and has completed IPA, they can enjoy the added benefits of the program, which include:

• Open communication with providers through secure messaging
• Quick consults with providers
• Online prescription refills with names of medications
• Less in-clinic time
• Less travel time to VA facilities

My HealtheVet also offers benefits that make VA health care more accessible and user-friendly. The Blue Button is a feature that allows patients to view, print or download health data currently in their My HealtheVet account. Patients can share the information with their families, caregivers or others. VA’s Blue Button puts veterans in control of information stored in My HealtheVet.

Since My HealtheVet began, program coordinators, providers and veterans have witnessed dramatic improvements in the delivery of technology-based health care services. “We’ve seen a patient’s request fulfilled in less than eight work hours,” said Cathrine England, My HealtheVet coordinator for VA North Texas. “This is how we are using technology combined with human interaction to more conveniently meet veterans’ needs,” England said.

As the number of patients VA North Texas serves continues to increase, the push remains to get more veterans to enroll in My HealtheVet, and to get them all IPA’d. That way, patients and providers can get more done in less time.

Veterans are encouraged to enroll in My HealtheVet today.  It’s the best tool VA has to give patients important health updates, allow them to order prescription refills, download their health record and even email their health care provider.

For more information about My HealtheVet, contact Cathrine England at 214-857-1721.