Online medical help and health services for Canadians amidst the pandemic

In the face of the current pandemic, people are adopting virtual health practices more than ever. These practices allow patients to get the support they need, without taking a step outside of their homes. 

We’ve collected a list of virtual health resources to inform you of all the resources that are available to you, including details around what type of service it is, the cost, and other important details. We are committed to helping you stay healthy during this time and will be updating this list regularly.

How virtual care can help

In times of high anxiety and stress, it’s more important than ever to invest in your mental wellness and physical wellness, and there are numerous ways virtual care can help. 

The most important benefit is that virtual care offers convenience. Pre-pandemic life meant patients would spend time to and from their appointments and in waiting rooms. Now that you’re empowered to connect with professionals from your home, midday appointments are possible without sacrificing a good chunk of your workday and personal time. 

On-demand Medical Support

	Providers	Available to	Cost	Provides Drug Prescriptions?	Group Benefits Provider Discount
Maple	Physicians	All provinces, open to the public	OHIP covered COVID-19 screening Pay/visit: $49 for the weekdays, $79 for weekends & holidays, $99 overnight Membership plans: $30/mo for personal, $50/mo for families	Yes	Included in all Victor benefits plans with per visit cost to the employee.
Cover Health	Physicians	Ontario, open to the public	Free, paid for by OHIP	Yes	N/A
Akira	Nurse Practitioners	All provinces, only for businesses	Only offered through group programs – costs will vary	Yes	Yes, for GroupSource, Manulife, Benecaid/Honeybee, and Desjardins.
Dialogue	Physicians and Nurse Practitioners	All provinces, only for businesses	$9 PEPM as entry cost, lower-cost arrangement if benefits plan is with Canada Life. FREE with Sun Life until June 10th	Yes	Yes, for Great-West Life and Sunlife
Tia Health	Physicians	All provinces (except Quebec, Saskatchewan and,PEI), open to the public	Free, with a valid health card in B.C, Alberta and Ontario. Costs vary in other provinces	Yes	N/A
GOeVisit	Physicians and Nurse practitioners	Nationwide (except QC), available to the public	Individual membership: $99.95/yr Family membership: $149.95/yr Business pricing available	Yes	N/A

Mental health support

Inkblot

Inkblot enables therapy online through video conferencing,  instead of in-person. Their mission is to make therapy services more accessible and affordable. They have over 200 therapists that you can book sessions with. The first visits are free (until you find a therapist you like). After this, the sessions cost $37.50 per 30 minute of individual counselling. If you’re a business, you can opt-in to their corporate program to cover the cost of therapy for your employees. ‍

Inkblot Meditation‍

Inkblot is offering live fully-guided video sessions. No experience is required. These sessions are completely free. Anyone can join. 

BetterHelp

BetterHelp offers professional online counselling. You can choose from a variety of communication channels –  chat, phone call, or video call. They also have the option of messaging your therapist anytime, with no previous scheduling. The prices range from $40 to $70 per week (billed monthly) and includes unlimited access to your counsellor. You can cancel your membership at any time for any reason.

Silvercloud

Silvercloud is a digital mental health platform with the mission to break down all the barriers with mental and behavioural health care. They have over 30+ programs across the spectrum of mental health. It is free for 60 days.

Togetherall

This is an anonymous, clinically managed, community providing peer-to-peer support. A safe place to talk, share and support people. They provide a support network of clinically managed online forums, self-guided groups,  courses, and a library of useful articles and resources. It is free to access.

TalkSpace

Talkspace is a platform that allows you to send your therapist text, audio, picture, and video messages at any time, and they will respond daily, 5x/week. They offer Unlimited Messaging Therapy, social media therapy for individuals, teens, couples and businesses. All prices are discounted in this period. It typically costs $65/week for Unlimited Messaging Therapy and Talk space for Teens. And $99/week for Couples therapy

Talkspace for COVID-19

To provide some relief in this time, Talkspace is offering a free therapist-led Facebook support groups, 16-day anxiety relief program to reduce/manage fear about COVID-19 and discounted Talkspace subscriptions for all.

Centre For Interactive Mental Health Solutions

CIHMS is a not-for-profit organization with a goal of making  effective mental health services accessible to people around the world. They offer  free online therapy for depression that involves an 8 session interactive therapy program for depression that you complete on your own. This is available for free.

Layla

Layla is a curated community of mental health therapists that provides both physical and virtual therapy sessions to Ontarians. It costs $130 per 50 mins ($170 for couples starting June 1st, 2020).

The Lifeline Canada Foundation

The Lifeline Canada Foundation is committed to positive mental health and suicide reduction across Canada. They do this mostly through The LifeLine App and the Companion Paws program. The app gives you access to online chat, text, email crisis help, Canadian Crisis Line Centres Mapping, online counselling, and more. It is free.

Advance Health

Advance Health is a group of registered psychotherapists, psychologists, and psychological associates  who have come together to help get you where you want to be. . Their services include psychotherapy, video-therapy, psychological assessments, and consultations. 

As we mentioned earlier, we will continue to update this list so that you know about all the virtual health resources available to you.