The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has recently established a new Digital Health Office (DHO) to centralize its technology-focused components. The DHO, launched on June 2 as part of a VHA Central Office optimization effort, combines several offices including connected care, population health, health informatics, strategic initiatives lab, and artificial intelligence programs. Funded by the offices and programs that were consolidated to create it, the DHO includes 600 personnel from various VHA initiatives.
The main focus of the DHO is to serve as a central coordinator of digital health strategy and execution for VHA. It aims to enhance partnerships between VA programs and facilities to develop digital innovations and provide support to spread these innovations across the enterprise. Latriece Prince-Wheeler, VHA’s acting deputy chief digital health officer, announced the launch of the DHO during a health innovation summit on June 6, highlighting the office’s role in optimizing digital health resources with a coordinated strategy.
While permanent leadership is still being recruited for the new office, Nadia Smith is currently overseeing its work as VHA’s acting chief digital health officer, with Prince-Wheeler serving as the acting deputy. The VA spokesperson emphasized the importance of embracing new innovations in digital health technologies to deliver high-quality care to veterans efficiently. By bringing together various efforts within VA and aligning resources and priorities, the DHO aims to maximize the impact of new technologies on the healthcare experiences of veterans.
