Veterans in the Asheboro area have a new place to go for VA health care appointments: Walmart.
The VA is making telehealth — connecting patients with healthcare providers through technology like video — a central part of the way it cares for patients. The idea is mainly to expand access for veterans who might live far from a VA clinic or medical center.
Already, veterans have more than a million such consultations a year, often via computer or phone from their homes.
This year, the VA has begun testing tiny telehealth clinics in VFW and American Legion posts and Walmarts.
It’s such a big deal for the VA that its Secretary, Robert Wilkie, traveled to North Carolina for the ribbon cutting here.
“Where veterans can come in to Asheboro, go to the Walmart, and talk to Durham, or talk to Fayetteville, or talk to Hampton, Virginia, or Atlanta, wherever it is we have people who can meet their needs,” Wilkie said.
The Asheboro location is among five Walmart clinics nationwide in the pilot program.