Canada Life announced March 5 that it is working with Dialogue Technologies Inc. to make virtual health care a standard benefit for employers with Canada Life group benefits plans, with up to 400 plan members.

The insurer says it will be the first insurer in Canada to offer virtual health care as a standard benefit when it comes into effect this summer. Group plan members and their dependents will have access to Dialogue's bilingual virtual health care platform, through mobile app or web browser.

"We are always open to smart collaborations that help support the financial, physical and mental well-being of Canadians, and our relationship with Dialogue is a great example of this," said Ryan Weiss, Vice-President, Product & Experience, Group Customer, Canada Life. "Together we've developed a streamlined, proprietary virtual health care solution that will give more than one million Canadians easier access to high-quality health care."

Dialogue’s integrated health care services can be accessed from anywhere in Canada, 24-hours a day, seven days a week. The service aims to enable plan members to save hours of time that they might typically spend waiting for in-person, non-urgent care.

Through the service, they will be able “to chat live with a registered nurse or see a physician via secure video consultation for various health and medical issues, whether to diagnose a wide variety of conditions, provide medical advice, write a prescription or make a referral to a specialist when it is medically indicated,” says the insurer.

“As demand for virtual health care continues to grow, working with Canada Life to integrate Dialogue as a standard benefit is an important step towards improving access to quality care for all Canadians," said Cherif Habib, CEO of Dialogue.