Telehealth Services at Ballad Health

Telehealth primary care

Ballad Health has offered telehealth resources since 2014.

Since then, our use of telemedicine technology has expanded to include several options for primary care, including:

• Online Quick Care – Online care option where you complete an online health interview regarding your symptoms, without ever having to turn on a webcam.
• Virtual Urgent Care – Access on-demand video visits for illnesses such as colds, ear and sinus infections, strep throat, sprains and strains, UTIs and many others.
• Virtual Primary Care – Partnering with your primary care provider for your overall health and wellness – all with the convenience of online care.

Holiday hours

Online Quick Care:

• Closes at 2:00 on Christmas Eve
• Closed Christmas Day
• Open regular hours New Year's Eve and New Year's Day

Virtual Urgent Care:

• Closes at 1:30 on Christmas Eve
• Closed Christmas Day
• Open regular hours New Year's Eve and New Year's Day

For emergency care while we are closed, please go to your local E.R. or call 9-1-1 right away.

Other telehealth services

Ballad Health began this telehealth journey with tele-stroke services in six of our facilities. In addition to primary care, we now offer other specialized telemedicine services such as:

• Pediatrics – As part of the Niswonger Children's Network, over 100 schools are currently connected to Ballad Health via telehealth, providing care and diagnostics that keep children healthier and in the classroom. Ballad Health also utilizes teleheath in each of its emergency departments to connect with pediatric specialists at Niswonger Children's Hospital.
• Neonatology – With the region's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) located at Niswonger Children's Hospital in Johnson City, Ballad Health's tele-neonatology services enable neonatologists and maternal-fetal experts to virtually care for sick and premature newborns at Holston Valley Medical Center, Bristol Regional Medical Center and Indian Path Community Hospital.
• Outpatient care – Telehealth options are offered for multiple physician specialties, which means patients in remote and rural areas in our region can connect with Ballad Health providers for a variety of conditions, ranging from diabetes and endocrinology care to high-level cardiology and cancer services.
• Behavioral health – By enabling telehealth services for behavioral health, we can open our crisis management, therapy and inpatient behavioral health programs to reach into underserved communities that lack dedicated facilities for mental health and well-being.
• Hospital-based care – Telehealth technology has allowed our providers to collaborate and bolster care for patients with a variety of needs, including the tele-ICU, tele-stroke and other high-risk services. Through the virtual health programs, specialty providers – regardless of location – can ensure their expertise is utilized for any patient who needs them.
• Employee assistance program – Serving more than 15,000 Ballad Health team members and physicians, the employee assistance program is a free-of-charge service for Ballad Health team members to receive counseling and therapy services for a range of needs, including family and marital counseling, post-traumatic stress disorder and ADHD screening.

Safe, secure and easy

Our telehealth program allows patients to safely access the care they need.

It reduces wait times for patients who need in-person services, while offering those who live in rural areas a convenient alternative to visiting the doctor's office.

300+ providers available online

Most recently – during the COVID-19 pandemic – Ballad Health expanded the telehealth program to include more than 300 Ballad Health Medical Associates primary care providers and specialists. And that number continues to grow.

This program has expanded access to medical care for thousands of existing patients and new patients, offering an easy way to connect with a provider during this troubling time.

What do you need?

Ballad Health telehealth uses tools like VisuWell, a cloud-based virtual health platform, to connect patients with Ballad Health providers for video services like the Virtual Urgent Care Clinic and telehealth specialty care.

For Online Quick Care, a telehealth service that does not require video, we use the Zipnosis platform.

All you need is a device with an internet connection – a smartphone, laptop, tablet or desktop computer.