VA Accelerates Digital Transformation with AI, VR Therapy and Scheduling Tech Rollouts

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is accelerating its digital transformation efforts with new technology deployments aimed at improving access to care, reducing administrative burden, and modernizing operations across the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Recent initiatives include an AI-powered enterprise operations platform, expanded virtual reality therapy programs, and nationwide deployment of a community care scheduling system.

AI-Powered Operations Across 150 Medical Centers

The VHA has deployed an agentic AI-powered operational system across more than 150 medical centers and outpatient facilities using technology from Salesforce. The platform integrates data, workflows, and communications to streamline operations and improve incident response.

The system uses Slack as a unified communication and operations layer, connecting more than 370,000 VHA staff, including clinicians, administrators, and caregivers. When operational issues arise — such as long patient wait times or low satisfaction scores — the AI system automatically creates a Slack channel, gathers relevant data, and brings together the appropriate staff and decision-makers to resolve the issue quickly.

Slack AI can also summarize conversations, identify improvement areas, and provide insights from past incidents to help teams resolve problems faster. The system is designed to reduce siloed processes, improve coordination, and allow healthcare teams to focus more on patient care.

Virtual Reality Therapy Expanding Nationwide

The VA is also expanding virtual reality therapy programs through a partnership with Mynd Immersive to 45 additional VA medical centers. The VR therapy programs are used to help veterans manage chronic pain, anxiety, stress, and social isolation from home.

Clinical studies conducted at VA medical centers showed significant improvements among patients using VR therapy, including reductions in pain intensity, anxiety, and emotional distress. The program includes therapeutic experiences such as relaxation programs, breathing exercises, and immersive experiences designed specifically for veterans.

The VR program also involves collaboration with Meta and clinical content developers to expand immersive therapy content for veterans.

Faster Community Care Appointment Scheduling

The VA has also completed nationwide deployment of its External Provider Scheduling (EPS) system, which helps VA staff schedule community care appointments faster with external healthcare providers.

The system now connects approximately 27,000 community care providers across 78 medical specialties. Previously, VA staff had to manually call multiple providers to arrange appointments, which significantly slowed scheduling. With the EPS system, staff can now book as many as 25 appointments per day, significantly improving access to care for veterans.

Leadership Transition

The technology expansion comes during a leadership transition. Charles Worthington, who served as the VA’s Chief Technology Officer and Chief AI Officer, recently stepped down after nearly nine years leading digital modernization initiatives across the department. During his tenure, the VA modernized its digital services, launched mobile applications, expanded AI use cases, and improved digital access for veterans.

The VA said George Waddington is currently serving as acting CTO, while Kimberly McManus is serving as acting Chief AI Officer and deputy CTO.

A Broader Digital Strategy

The new technology deployments are part of the VA’s broader strategy to modernize digital infrastructure, improve interoperability, and expand virtual care services. The department is also exploring integration between its AI operations platform and VA Health Connect, its 24/7 virtual contact center.

Healthcare analysts say the VA’s approach reflects a growing trend in healthcare: combining AI automation, virtual care, immersive therapy, and digital scheduling systems to improve patient access, operational efficiency, and care delivery at scale.