Ballad Health https://balladhealth.org, an integrated healthcare delivery system, serves 29 counties in Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, Northwestern North Carolina and Southeast Kentucky. In total the health system operates 21 hospitals.
Ballad Health recently launched a region-wide technology driven virtual urgent care center for on-demand care to help patients from their homes. The “Connected Care Virtual Urgent Care Clinic” has expanded care to more than 300 primary and specialty care providers.
The technology expansion creates even more access to the already broad network by enabling telehealth connectivity for a flat fee of $30 which includes a visit with a healthcare provider for a diagnosis and a prescription if necessary. The $30 flat fee applies regardless of insurance coverage and is less than a typical urgent care visit.
Connected Care Virtual Urgent Care Clinic is not a replacement for emergency services if the patient is experiencing life threatening symptoms, in which case, the patient should call 911 or immediately go to one of Ballad Health’s 17 emergency departments.
Before the virtual clinic was launched, Ballad Health had been providing telehealth technology in 108 schools throughout the Appalachian Highlands region plus access to telehealth at the Niswonger Children’s Hospital and in every emergency department throughout the health system. The investment in technology is unparalleled in the Appalachian Highlands.
The visual clinic uses VisuWell, a cloud-based, virtual health platform that gives patients the ability to connect directly to their healthcare provider using a web-enabled device such as a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
Debbie Voyles, Corporate Director of Virtual Health at Ballad Health said, “The expansion of Connected Care’s Telehealth offerings with providers is especially important to patients living in rural areas and for vulnerable patient populations with patients that are immunocompromised or have pre-existing conditions. They now have access to certain physician specialties such as oncology and palliative care that weren’t previously available via the use of telehealth.”
Go to https://balladhealth.org.connected-caretlehealth-urgent-care for more information on the Connected Care Virtual Urgent Care Clinic.