A Connecticut healthcare system is using a $250,000 donation from a patient to launch a telehealth service.

More important, the new telehealth program Western Connecticut Health Network is putting in place is the first of a series of initiatives the Danbury-based health system will use to jumpstart other digital healthcare initiatives, says Western Connecticut Medical Group executive director and Western Connecticut Health vice president Richard Gemming.

Western Connecticut Health, which conducts more than 16,000 primary care visits each month and has a primary care staff of about 200 doctors and related providers such as physicians assistants, is using a donation from John Patrick, a patient and former vice president of internet technology at IBM Corp., and his wife to launch the telehealth service. “He’s a big believer in what the web and telehealth can do,” Gemming says.

The telehealth program was launched in January and so far has rolled out to just two offices. “Traffic is only a handful of visits so far,” Gemming says. But Western Connecticut Health expects to have as many as 63 provider sites and 200 physicians’ assistants or related providers plugged into its after-hours telehealth program over the next few months. The new telehealth service is available from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

After-hours digital doctor visits are available for non-emergency and walk-in clinic treatment for minor conditions such as cold, flu, sprains and related conditions. Eventually the hours of operation will be expanded but a timetable has yet to be developed.

The new telehealth service is aimed at expanding Western Connecticut Health’s patient access to more convenient treatment options, Gemming says. The health system also recently launched a new night nurse service as a phone service patients can use to talk with a nurse on call when emergency and non-emergency questions come up. “The health system wants to be easy and convenient for patients to use,” Gemming says. “Telehealth is a part of that.”

Once the after-hours telehealth service is established, Western Connecticut Health will use the results to plan for a broader rollout of telehealth services in other treatment areas that may include behavioral health. “There are multiple ways to deploy telehealth,” Gemming says.

Over the course of the next several months Western Connecticut Health is also working to offer patients other self-service tools including finding and locating convenient locations, scheduling office visits online and filling out forms online prior to arriving for a first appointment.

The health system, which is installing a new system-wide electronic health records system from Cerner Corp., going forward will take an aggressive approach to rolling out more digital and consumer health initiatives, Gemming says. “Many age groups want immediate access to these kinds of tools,” he says.

A typical telehealth visit is about $79 but some health insurers will cover a digital doctor visit with the covered patient responsible for a co-payment. Western Connecticut Health has yet to name its telehealth services provider.

Western Connecticut Health Network is comprised of three hospitals in Danbury, Norwalk and New Milford. The health system also operates Western Connecticut Medical Group and Western Connecticut Home Care.