Houston Methodist is now the only health care system in Houston to offer consumers 24-hour access to virtual urgent care visits, meeting the growing appetite nationwide for virtual medical care.

 

The Advisory Board’s 2017 Virtual Visits Consumer Choice Survey, which included over 5,000 patients across the country, found that 77 percent of patients are interested in virtual care visits, and 19 percent of patients have already done so.

 

“We live in a technology-driven age where people want easy access to services and they are open to seeing a provider via video. With virtual urgent care, a patient can get help for minor illnesses from the comfort of their own home,” said Roberta Schwartz, executive vice president, Houston Methodist Hospital, and chief innovation officer for the Houston Methodist Center for Innovation.

 

Virtual urgent care is available in the new MyMethodist app, which includes access to medical records through MyChart, physician communications, test results, bill payment, prescription refills, and wayfinding maps for Houston Methodist facilities across the greater Houston area.

 

Fewer than 35 percent of U.S. hospitals offer their own apps to improve patient access, according to a recent survey by Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.

 

Anyone with access to the IOS or Android app stores can download the MyMethodist mobile app. Urgent care video visits allow patients to have a face-to-face conversation to address certain medical issues without the need for scheduling an in-person appointment, unless otherwise directed by the medical provider.

 

Conditions that may be appropriate for virtual urgent care video visits include cold/flu symptoms, pink eye, skin infections/rash, allergies, cough/fever/headache and upper respiratory infections.

 

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