Harvard’s Ash Center names VA Mobile Health to Bright Ideas Program

The Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation recently named VA’s Mobile Health Initiative as part of its Bright Ideas Program for 2015. VA Mobile Health was recognized for its versatile and collaborative approach to app development, and for its role in enhancing patient care at VA through technological innovation.

VA’s mobile development process streamlines existing development processes, creating a flexible system that allows for increased collaboration at every level and partnering with Veterans and VA employees from all areas of the organization. The resulting apps will give Veterans new opportunities and tools with which to be active participants in their own health care.

As we continue to innovate, there are exciting developments for VA Mobile Health on the horizon. The first apps that allow Veterans direct access to information in the VA Electronic Health Record (EHR) will be released nationwide over the coming year. Other apps in development include those that will allow patients to refill prescriptions and securely communicate with their health care teams through mobile devices.

VA Mobile Health is at the forefront of mobile government, and we are working closely with Kaiser Permanente, England’s National Health Service and other health leaders to find new health care solutions and look at health care delivery in new ways. We are honored to be recognized as one of the Ash Center’s Bright Ideas and look forward to discovering new ways to collaborate with other leaders in the digital health community, and with the Veterans we serve.

Kathleen Frisbee, MPH, PhD, Co-Director, Connected Health, Office of Informatics and Analytics, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs