VETERANS POST Save time with VA Health-Care Apps

All you need to connect to health care at the Department of Veterans Affairs is a computer, tablet or smartphone. In August, officials unveiled a special app (The VA Video Connect), and so far 20,000 veterans have used it to increase their access to 4,000 VA providers and cut down on travel time.

This is huge. With the app, you can connect to a virtual medical room, just like you were meeting in person. You can have an appointment without ever having to leave home. Go online to mobile. va.gov/appstore and read the FAQ. Unlike some of the VA pages, this one is well-done.

Note the link to the test site to ensure that your device is compatible. If you have an iPhone, you’ll end up at the Apple app store for your free download. For an Android, you’ll find instructions linked from the page.

One hint: If you signed up back in August on an iPhone and now your app doesn’t seem to work, there’s a good chance you got the older version and need to get the new app. Computers, tablet and Android phone apps still should work correctly.

On the same page are other available VA apps. There’s a scheduling app so you can make appointments for primary care. (There’s also a user manual.) See the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) app for help with managing daily struggles due to PTSD. It was developed by VA’s National Center for PTSD with input from veterans and service members who are in ACT consultation. Two apps contain the airborne hazards and open burn pit registry, and the clinical portal for those. If you have a problem with mood, check the Anger and Irritability Management Skills app.

If you need tech help, call (866) 651-3180 Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET.