Teladoc Health helped Jon Wells navigate the health-care system in a timely manner, after spending fruitless hours trying to find a specialist on his own. “My case worker, the Teladoc advocate I connected with, did all the leg work,” he says.Christinne Muschi
Jon Wells, a 47-year-old resident of Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., was excited to start his new sales job in 2019. Then COVID-19 hit. Struggling with anxiety for the past 10 years, Wells depended on his general practitioner to assist him with getting him the right medication.
But the pandemic brought fresh worries. “I was dealing with new clients, deadlines and budgets. Plus, personal concerns. It was overwhelming,” he says.
During his last visit to his GP, she said it was time for him to see a psychologist. Did she have a list of clinicians he could approach? No. He was told he’d have to source an expert on his own.
“I spent hours in the evenings getting names and contacts on the Internet,” says Wells. “Some could see me in six months, others were totally booked with waiting lists and others were not taking new clients. It was a little defeating.”
At work, while explaining his dilemma to some colleagues, he found out that his benefits package included the Teladoc Health service. “A friend told me they would give me an evaluation and set me up with the right doctors,” recalls Wells.
He followed up and within a week had an evaluation appointment with a psychologist and a week after that, a psychiatrist.
They knew the system much better than I did, knew which doctors to contact.
— Jon Wells, Teladoc Health client
“My case worker, the Teladoc advocate I connected with, did all the leg work. I filled out an intake questionnaire, the advocate set up the online meetings and called me after to make sure I was comfortable.”
The first thing the psychiatrist did was adjust the dose of Wells’ medication.
“In three weeks, things were getting better,” he recalls. “The medication was more effective, and I started to see a therapist on a regular basis who gave me strategies and techniques to lower stress.”
Wells noted the role of the advocate was key on his journey to wellness. “They knew the system much better than I did, knew which doctors to contact. In a matter of minutes, they found appropriate therapists and in days, my appointments were booked.”
He was also happy about the post-appointment reports sent to him that outlined his treatments. These streamlined other clinical visits requiring a record of his medical history.
“I wish health care in Canada was like this all the time. This should be the standard of care,” he says.
Teladoc Health, a public company, and the global leader in virtual health-care services, operates in 125 countries around the world. Teladoc offers a variety of care options including episodic (fever, rash), chronic (diabetes), complex (cancer, surgery) and mental-health care.
This fall, the company launched myStrength, a digital self-serve app that complements its other mental-health services.
Joby McKenzie, managing director of Teladoc Health in Canada, describes it as “a helping hand.”
Following appointments, reports were sent to Wells that outlined his treatment, and streamlined other clinical visits requiring a record of his medical history. Teladoc recently launched myStrength, a digital self-serve app that complements its other health services.Christinne Muschi
“MyStrength is a comprehensive mental-health wellness app that supports everyone being mentally well,” she explains. “It offers hundreds of pieces of content that deal with everything from anxiety, to sleep disorders, parenting and stress caused by COVID. It also offers a coaching component.”
“The myStrength app helps to round out what we already have in place,” she says. “It’s a support tool available 24/7 so you can be healthy in the moment you most need it.”
She notes that, through the mental-health service available on the Teladoc Health app, you can also schedule an appointment to see a psychologist or psychiatrist.
A benefit service provided through employer insurance plans, Teladoc clients include Canada Life, Sun Life, Empire Life and Johnston Group, as well as direct employers such as Shopify, each with a variety of services based on the company’s needs.
A November survey commissioned by Canada Health Infoway found seven out of 10 Canadians want telehealth and of those who have it already, 90 per cent are satisfied. Internal data from a June 2021 Teledoc Health survey shows that 91 per cent of people seeking virtual mental-health support reported some improvement in their well-being, with more than a quarter reporting a “breakthrough.”
McKenzie notes that virtual health can replace a majority of appointments. “It’s not an ‘or’ but instead an ‘and.’ It’s like banking. You don’t always have to go to the building,” she says.
For Wells, having an advocate took away the frustration of knowing what to do and where to go to be healthy, and smoothed the way to getting help quickly.
“Teladoc gets you the best health care for your needs in a timely way,” he says. “It’s the next step for Canada.”
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with Teladoc. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.