My HealtheVet and telehealth reach Veterans where they are

After 26 years in the Air Force, Sonya Wilson knew she wanted to get a job helping other Veterans. As a My HealtheVet Coordinator at Central Alabama VA, she gets to do just that… every day.

Wilson helps Veterans and providers use My HealtheVet, VA’s online patient portal. Through My HealtheVet, Veterans can review and manage their VA appointments, refill their VA prescriptions, exchange secure messages with their VA providers and more.

“My criteria when I came to VA was I needed to be in a job that is really going to make a difference for Veterans. I’m feeling fulfilled every day because I really feel like I make a difference as a My HealtheVet Coordinator,” Wilson said.

Virtual care is a gamechanger for Veterans

One of the providers Wilson works with is Dr. Renato Popovic, primary care mental health integration psychologist. He does initial assessments for Veterans who receive primary care and are interested in receiving mental health services. Popovic says early intervention for Veterans’ mental health issues is important because it prevents more severe symptoms from developing.

Popovic also uses My HealtheVet Secure Messaging to share information with Veterans and answer their questions in real-time. “My HealtheVet has been a really great tool. Getting them session materials and being able to answer questions about some of the things we discuss in our sessions has been key,” he said.

Popovic says video telehealth appointments are also important in supporting Veterans’ mental health. “Our VA system covers a wide area, and there is a lot of distance to travel. So, telehealth has been a real buy-in for some Veterans who are 30, 40, 50 minutes away.”

Popovic says many of the Veterans he treats prefer video visits over in-person appointments. For some, clinic visits are a barrier to care. Many of them put off making appointments or skip them entirely because of travel burdens and environmental stressors or PTSD triggers. And without consistent care, their conditions can worsen.

“Veterans say that before VA telehealth and virtual care technologies, they would avoid appointments because it was too distressing. But these technologies make it possible for them to attend because they do have more comfort at home. It’s really helping us meet Veterans where they are and really extend services to even more Veterans who might have felt uncomfortable being at clinics,” he added.

“He believes in it as much as I do”

Wilson and Popovic have only good things to say about working together. Wilson especially appreciates that Popovic promotes My HealtheVet to the Veterans he serves. He convinces them to use the platform before she even meets with them for setup.

“He is actually selling the program to his patients who are new so I don’t have to,” Wilson said. “The fact that he is as busy as he is and he still is helping to promote this program tells me that he believes in it as much as I do.”

Wilson says that of the roughly 53,000 Veterans enrolled in care at Central Alabama VA, around 25,000 have a My HealtheVet account and use it regularly. And that number continues to rise.

“My goal, of course, is to get to 100%. I suspect that’s never going to happen but that’s what I’m reaching for,” she added.

For more information on VA virtual technologies, visit My HealtheVet and the VA App Store.