“People say digital health startups shouldn’t even try to work with the VA. But that’s totally wrong.”
“There’s a saying that many who work with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have heard before: If you know one VA Medical Center, then you know one VA Medical Center. It’s a mantra born of the fact that the VA consists of more than 1,200 facilities that frequently operate in silos. It means you tend to find variation in policies, procedures, and operations from one facility to the next. The VA is also the largest health system in the United States, made up of more than 300,000 employees serving nine million veterans. It’s not the easiest federal department to navigate…”
“For many health care entrepreneurs, the complexity of the VA is a bridge too far. But in spite of the challenges, there are three key reasons the VA offers great potential.”
“First, since the VA is an integrated health care system that pays for its own services, it has built-in incentives to provide value. Most digital health solutions describe their value proposition as some version of making it easier for patients to maintain or monitor their health or receive care. This increased ability to monitor for problems or access care sooner prevents more acute problems and improves overall health, thereby driving down costs in the long run. However, most health care systems operate via a fee-for-service model, which means they perversely lose money by investing in preventive solutions. Value-based care providers like the VA are incentivized to jump at these solutions that both save costs and lead to better health outcomes.”
“Second, the VA has embraced innovative technology for years, but the challenges brought on by Covid-19 truly underscored the need to incorporate new ways of solving old problems…” Read the full article here.
Source: People say digital health startups shouldn’t even try to work with the VA. But that’s totally wrong. – By Jon Bloom, June 3, 2020. MedCity News.
