The Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA") recently announced the development of five VA Mental Health Telehealth Clinical Resource Centers, one of which is already operational. The Centers are designed to provide veterans with rapid access to mental health services, particularly veterans in rural and underserved communities. According to the VA 2017 Budget Request, Volume II Congressional Submission, and a VA News Release from May 2016, the VA served 677,000 patients via telehealth in 2015, which is approximately 12 percent of the veterans receiving health care from the VA. The VA has demonstrated that it is a world leader in telehealth services through these structural and technical investments in care management and health informatics. As a further demonstration of the VA's commitment to telehealth, the Volume II Congressional Submission states the VA's commitment to provide telemedicine services to 762,000 veterans in 2017.
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