The VA’s “eHealth Quality Enhancement Research Initiative” referred to as eHealth-QUERI is working with VA program offices to implement and evaluate eHealth as a model of care. The eHealth-QUERI’s database focuses on all clinical issues that are applicable so researchers are able to use the data to evaluate My HealtheVet (MHV).
The VA created MHV to provide veterans with an online personal health record so that veterans could refill VA prescriptions, receive wellness reminders, view appointments, view lab results and participate in secure messaging with their healthcare team 24/7.
In connection with eHealth-QUERI, the VA Medical Center’s Center for Health Quality Outcomes and Economic Research located in Bedford Massachusetts is conducting a study is using the eHealth QUERI Database’s clinical data to study how the data relates to MHV use.
The staff at Bedford will obtain information from the database to track how the MHV is used across disease categories and patient demographics. Initially, the focus will center on the most prevalent or high-priority diagnoses and conditions among veterans. Researchers will conduct in-depth analyses to characterize how veterans with specific health conditions are using MHV.
By identifying groups of patients who are actively using MHV and then looking at how many other groups are falling behind in using MHV, the VA will be able to help identify areas where further improvements are needed and should be made. This information will be of value to MHV coordinators and patient-aligned care teams.
