Blessing brings hybrid virtual healthcare program to region

QUINCY — The next generation of local virtual healthcare is called Blessing OnDemand, available on a smartphone or tablet via an app or a personal computer by web browser. It is a hybrid of the virtual health service Blessing introduced in 2016. Blessing OnDemand features Blessing Health System providers delivering the patient care for 16 hours of the day, with providers from Teledoc, a national company specializing in virtual healthcare, covering the other eight hours.

Blessing OnDemand features the health system’s own providers, skilled in general or family medicine, answering patient calls from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Blessing OnDemand providers diagnose, treat and prescribe medication for non-emergency conditions including the flu, sore throat, eye infections, bronchitis and more, in people age 2 and older.

“The use of virtual healthcare exploded as the COVID pandemic descended on the region last year,” said Rose Ghattas, virtual health coordinator at Blessing Health System. “Blessing OnDemand features the best of what we learned fielding tens of thousands of calls since March 2020 from people who needed healthcare but could not go to their provider’s office or chose not to leave their homes during the pandemic.”

The average wait time to connect with a Blessing OnDemand provider is 15 minutes. The cost is $45 per visit and is covered by most insurance companies. Patients are responsible for submitting the claim to their insurance company.

To have access to Blessing OnDemand, visit the website and create an account.