A Telehealth Collaboration Between a Regional Veterans Affairs Primary Care System and a School of Pharmacy: Key Outcomes from 2024

Background: The Veterans Health Administration is the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States, delivering services to more than 9.1 million Veterans across 1,380 facilities. We describe a partnership with a regional Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system and a health professional school. Methods: The VA Northern California Health Care System, in collaboration with the University of the Pacific, Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy, implemented a remote population health management course for pharmacy students. The course combined didactic and experiential learning, utilizing remote access to VA electronic health records and clinical dashboards to conduct telehealth activities focused on diabetes, cancer screenings, and opioid safety. A time and motion analysis evaluated the time the students saved the healthcare system. Pre- and post-course assessments evaluated students’ knowledge and confidence in performing telehealth activities. Results: In 2024, 126 students participated in the course, collectively saving 377.5 hours of healthcare system labor. Analysis of pre- and post-course assessments revealed statistically significant improvements in students' knowledge and confidence related to course activities and population health initiatives. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of a scalable telehealth course model in enhancing student learning while supporting population health management efforts within a healthcare system.