National Employee Survey: Virtual Healthcare Benefits Help Corporate Bottom Line

Wello launches with new virtual healthcare service to help Canadians get well and keep well

TORONTO, Sept. 24, 2018 /CNW/ - Results from a new national employee survey show that by offering access to virtual healthcare services as a health benefit, companies can improve the health and wellness of their employees and save on absenteeism costs.

The 2018 survey found that 73% of employees had to take time off work to go to the doctor's office. When that time is added up over the course of a year, 39% of all employees had to take a total of at least 2-6+ days off work just for visits to their healthcare provider. Wello virtual healthcare, a new corporate health benefit, provides employees and their families with easy and convenient virtual healthcare services that save unnecessary trips to the clinic.

Launching today in Ontario, Wello's expert team of caring Nurse Practitioners help Canadians get well when they're sick and keep well over the long term through video and phone visits, and through secure webchat. A 100% Canadian company headquartered in Calgary and with a new office in Toronto, Wello already provides services to people in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

"Wello is a new virtual healthcare service that is helping to usher in the future of health benefits in Canada," said Vince Danielsen, President and CEO of Wello. "Employers across the country are looking for personalized health and wellness benefits to help their employees stay healthy. With Wello, companies can keep their employees healthy, attract and retain the best talent, and save on costs due to absenteeism. Wello is good for employers' bottom line, and for employees and their families who benefit from easy and convenient access to the healthcare they need."

Wello's national survey of Canadian employees also found that 74% of employees believe better health benefits are as important or more important than a higher salary or wage. These results show that by embracing innovative health benefits that offer their employees expert and convenient care, companies can help attract and retain the best talent. 

Companies can give their employees and their families anytime, anywhere access to Wello virtual healthcare through their health benefits plans and through offerings such as Health Spending Accounts (HSAs). Canadians can also sign up for Wello services through individual and family plans at wello.ca.

"Virtual healthcare has been embraced in other jurisdictions in part because of its convenience, time savings, and improved patient experience," said Dr. Wendy Smeltzer, Wello's Medical Director and a family physician. "In our experience, many in-person visits to a health clinic can be appropriately handled through virtual healthcare, including by phone, video, or webchat. Wello's team of Nurse Practitioners provide their patients with high-quality primary care—which can include prescriptions and specialist referrals if medically necessary—as well as health coaching, mental health advice, and any follow-up care they need to keep well."

While use of virtual healthcare is still limited in Canada, it is increasingly popular in other jurisdictions. With services like Wello, Canadians have the chance to close that gap. Wello's national employee survey shows that nearly nine-out-of-ten Canadian employees would like to have access to virtual healthcare services. This includes 87% who would like to use virtual healthcare to obtain a prescription, 86% to obtain a specialist referral, 85% to answer health questions when they're travelling, and 85% for after-hours service, among other services.

Wello's executive team and medical leadership have a long track-record of delivering high-quality healthcare through Wello's parent company, INLIV. Based in Calgary, INLIV is a medical facility with a 40-year history of providing a wide range of primary healthcare, wellness and corporate health services.  

About Wello
Wello is a provider of anytime, anywhere virtual healthcare services delivered by its expert team of Nurse Practitioners. Wello services are available through phone and video visits as well as secure webchat. Backed by a 40-year history of providing high-quality healthcare through its parent company, Calgary-based INLIV, Wello can be offered as part of a company's health benefits for its employees, as well as through individual and family plans available at wello.ca. 

About Nurse Practitioners
Nurse Practitioners are registered nurses who receive additional advanced university education alongside clinical practice experience and who provide a wide range of healthcare services in Canada. They are professionally regulated with a scope of practice that includes primary care services such as diagnosing and treating medical conditions, prescribing medications, ordering and interpreting laboratory tests, making specialist referrals, and ordering some diagnostic imaging tests.    

Learn more:

• Backgrounder: National Survey Results (Workplace Health and Wellness: A Survey of Canadian Workers, Hill+Knowlton Strategies for Wello, 2018)
• Backgrounder: About Wello
• Backgrounder: Wello's Leadership Team

SOURCE Wello

Media contact: Gabe De Roche, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, [email protected]