MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — WVU Medicine has extended its waiver of all outpatient personal pay fees associated with telehealth services, including deductibles and co-payments, to May 31.

“As the state and nation begin to reopen and life returns to its new normal, we want to continue to encourage our patients to seek the medical care they need when they need it,” Doug Coffman, chief financial officer for the West Virginia University Health System, said. “Waiving these fees will help to ease the financial burden on everyone, but especially on those whose income was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are happy to be able to offer this assistance to our patients.”

Established patients physically located within West Virginia or Maryland can video chat with a provider via a smartphone or webcam-equipped computer during regular clinic hours Monday through Friday. Patients physically located in Pennsylvania, Ohio, or other states at the time of treatment should contact their providers regarding availability of video visits due to licensure regulations.

Those established patients interested in scheduling a video visit with their providers should call 855-WVU-CARE or send their providers a direct message through MyWVUChart.

Patients will use their MyWVUChart accounts to participate in the visit. In order to complete the video visit by smartphone or tablet, which is the preferred method, the MyChart app must be installed prior to the scheduled appointment, and the patient must have access to a high-speed internet connection or 3G/4G network.

To complete a video visit through a computer, patients must ensure their computers have a working web camera, microphone, speakers, and high-speed internet connection.

In January, WVU Medicine completed 889 video visits. In April, that number increased 8,093 percent to 72,838 visits.

“The last thing we want is to create a second health crisis because people were unable to seek medical care for financial or other reasons,” Judie Charlton, M.D., WVU Medicine chief medical officer, said. “We are taking every precaution to make sure our facilities are safe to protect the health of our patients and staff. Please, if you are in need of medical care, do not put it off any longer. Let us help.”

For more information on WVU Medicine, visit WVUMedicine.org.