Delivering Virtual Care to Patients with Cognitive Impairment within the Veterans Health Administration: Multi-level Barriers and Solutions

Older patients with cognitive impairment, including dementia, may benefit from virtual care that increases access to geriatric specialties. Here, we identify clinician-level strategies to address the numerous barriers that reduce utilization of virtual services. We describe two innovative programs in the Veterans Health Administration that deliver geriatric medicine and geriatric psychiatry services virtually. This commentary outlines concrete strategies addressing identified barriers, including technology access, digital literacy, and ambivalence and communication challenges during video visits. Two virtual care programs (tele-geriatric psychiatry consultation; tele-dementia care) that address complex medical and mental health issues in older adults with cognitive impairment are described. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) is used to categorize the clinician-level strategies and program elements as they relate to the implementation domains and constructs. Clinicians can use education strategies prior to and during virtual care visits to facilitate access to video, optimize the virtual experience, and promote information retention. These strategies rely on aspects of the inner setting, outer setting, and characteristics of individuals. The two virtual programs vary in their intervention characteristics and the inner setting, yet both programs share similar characteristics of individuals. Key elements contributing to adoption and sustainment of these virtual care programs for patients with cognitive impairment include the relative advantage of virtual care to leverage access to specialists over alternative solutions in each setting. Other factors to consider include the importance of communication, program champions, and the role of the Veterans Health Administration.