VA

This week's top stories include primary care doctors saying they're not ready for the next COVID-19 surge, Philips building out the VA's telehealth infrastructure, and Novartis and Propeller Health co-packaging a new asthma treatment.

The round now comes to a total of $16.55 million, and will continue to support the company's push into the VA and commercial payer markets.

The technology proved its merit in a pilot that reported high detection rates and adherence, and is already in use at 15 VA medical centers.

Veterans will have secure access to a portable aggregated record of their allergies, immunizations, lab results, procedures and other health measures.

Even though uptake was low, the study findings suggest that telehealth could benefit patients living far from specialized clinics.

Microsoft is providing its Xbox Adaptive Controller and other gaming hardware to 22 VA centers treating veterans with limited mobility.

Apple's partnership with the VA will bring the mobile personal health record platform to more than 9 million veterans.

The deal is part of a five-year $993.5 million contract between the DoD, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon.

The new partners plan on implementing Spok Care Connect, a medical messaging system, in their efforts to modernize the VA's communication system. 

According to emails reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, the technology could help patients find care centers near them and share medical test results.