Veterans in rural areas with low or no connectivity can now receive faster treatment through the launch of a new mobile app by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that allows Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) teams to access patient information while offline.
Previously, HBPC staff had to connect to hotspots, access virtual private networks, and log in to laptops when accessing patient records, the VA said in an announcement on Oct. 24.
Now, the launch of the “Oracle Health Community Care” app enables teams to open patient charts at the point of care, which helps with “saving time and reducing disruptions.”
“By equipping HBPC teams with mobile access to patient records without needing internet access, the Oracle Health Community Care app helps staff deliver care more efficiently, securely and effectively,” the VA said.
The app can be accessed on government-provided iOS devices and gives HBPC teams access to records on their device rather than printing out patient charts or taking handwritten notes. This helps to reduce the risk of sensitive patient information getting lost or mishandled, the VA said.
It also helps veterans by letting those receiving care view trends in their health data, which aims to help them “better understand the importance of their treatment plans.”
So far, the app has largely been successful and is now live across all six facilities that use the Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR), the VA said.
“From Aug. 22 through mid-September, 97% of the nearly 1,400 transactions conducted in the app – such as opening a patient chart, submitting a lab order, or saving a note – were completed in under two seconds,” the VA said.
The app comes as the VA works to modernize its health systems, including plans to roll out the Federal EHR to 13 more sites in fiscal year 2026.