VA Health Connect provides the right care, right now

If you're experiencing a critical situation that requires immediate action, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

Call VA Health Connect in all other situations before going to urgent care or to the emergency room. You may need emergency care for pressing issues but may not need to go to an emergency room. VA Health Connect nurses will evaluate your symptoms and help decide if you need a virtual visit with a provider or should be referred to emergency care. These providers can address urgent needs over the phone and advise you on what to do next.

Tele-emergency care is for Veterans who need medical advice right away, but do not have a condition that needs to be treated in person. Depending on your needs, the provider can evaluate you over the phone or video and recommend treatment or advise if in-person care is needed. In life-threatening emergencies, the VA nurse will call 911 and stay on the line until help arrives. 

VA Health Connect is a simple way for you to virtually connect with medical professionals, pharmacy and administrative services 24/7/365. Information from your call is then added to your medical records so your care team stays up to date.  

Call VA Health Connect if you:

• Need care after hours or on weekends.
• Have issues that make it difficult to visit a VA facility.
• Live in a rural area or don’t have convenient access to a VA facility.
• Need to reduce potential exposure to COVID-19, flu and other infectious diseases.

With VA Health Connect, you can:

• Speak or chat with a nurse (clinical triage).
• Meet with a medical provider (Virtual Clinic Visit).
• Get a virtual evaluation with an emergency care provider, if needed (tele-emergency care).
• Get help with your prescriptions (Pharmacy Services).
• Make an appointment (Scheduling & Administration).

Anytime you're under the weather and need to discuss your symptoms with a medical professional.

By phone: Call your local VA medical center and select the service you need. Select:

• 1 for pharmacy, 
• 2 for scheduling or 
• 3 to speak to a nurse.

By chat: You can chat with VA staff in most participating locations Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time, excluding federal holidays. In some locations, staff are available 24/7. Download VA Health Chat app from the VA Mobile App Store.

Anyone calling on behalf of a Veteran enrolled in VA health care. 

When you call VA Health Connect, you speak to a clinical triage nurse who will evaluate your symptoms based on signs of illness or injury. Our nurses work with you to determine what kind of treatment you need and recommend the best level of care. A clinical triage nurse will:

• Listen, understand and support you and recommend a course of action to address your symptoms.
• Arrange a virtual clinic visit for you to meet with a medical provider if your symptoms indicate that is needed.
• Connect you with an emergency medicine provider to address issues that are pressing, but not so pressing they require an in-person ER visit. 

VA Health Connect nurses will make recommendations and help you decide the next steps.

This service allows you to schedule, reschedule or cancel a Virtual Clinic Visit or primary care appointment.

These visits allow you to talk about your health care needs with VA medical providers by phone, video (where available) or chat. They also allow medical professionals to give you medical advice, order tests when needed and prescribe medication.

You can get prescription refills and renewals and answers to your questions about medications. You also can get help with order processing and solving any issues with prescriptions. You can talk to pharmacists during business hours.