Deaconess launches virtual care services
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Evansville-based health system Deaconess has partnered with a telehealth provider to offer patients 24×7 urgent care through virtual visits.
The virtual visits will occur through the MyChart online platform and provide care for routine medical issues such as colds, fevers, headaches, nausea, allergies, sore throats, and back pain, according to a news release from the telehealth provider, KeyCare.
Deaconess Chief Transformation Officer Amanda Bohleber said the health system considered other telehealth providers, but KeyCare rose to the top, in part because of its electronic health record functionality and ease of use for patients.
“Deaconess is always looking for ways to enhance care for patients, while also improving access, equity, and inclusion in the communities we serve,” Bohleber said in the news release.
Deaconess provides health care services to more than 1.5 million people in southwestern Indiana, western Kentucky, and southeastern Illinois through a network of 19 hospitals as well as clinics and other facilities, the news release said.
KeyCare, based in Chicago, offers health systems access to a network of independent virtual care providers in areas such as primary care, urgent care, and behavioral health.
“Expansive and growing healthcare systems like Deaconess need to be innovative in their approach to care,” KeyCare CEO Lyle Berkowitz said in the news release. “Providing on-demand access to virtual care whenever and wherever patients need it is a prime example of that.”