telemedicine cost savings report Dialogue and Sun Life telemedicine report reveals potential benefits across Canadian healthcare systems
Thursday, March 17, 2022, 7:00 AM ET
Report estimates that by 2025, governments could save up to $1 billion per year with the adoption of telemedicine platforms
MONTREAL, March 17, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Dialogue Health Technologies Inc. (TSX: CARE) ("Dialogue"), Canada's premier health and wellness virtual healthcare platform and Sun Life Financial Inc. (the "Company") (TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF), co-sponsored a report analyzing the economic impacts associated with Dialogue's telemedicine adoption in Canada's healthcare system. The Economic Impact of Telemedicine in Canada report, compiled by AppEco, evaluates the net benefits that Dialogue and Lumino Health Virtual Care offer to Canadian governments, employers and patients.
The report underlines the historical growth and continued adoption of telemedicine services in Canada.
The report reveals that increased adoption of telemedicine platforms Lumino Health Virtual Care, powered by Dialogue, directly translate into cost and strain reduction on Canada's healthcare system. The study was conducted specifically on Dialogue and Lumino Health Virtual Care's operating models, which allow employers to invest in the health and well-being of employees; consultations are never charged to provincial governments.
For example, on average, a visit to the emergency department in Canada costs the public healthcare system $202 while a visit to a doctor's office or clinic costs $44 per consultation. Economic modelling suggests that telemedicine platforms, such as Dialogue and Lumino Health Virtual Care, save the Canadian healthcare system $52 on average for every consultation that would have otherwise taken place through standard public care.
As telemedicine adoption rates continue to rise, it is estimated that by 2025 platforms like Dialogue could save governments up to $1 billion per year.
"Access to healthcare, both for physical and mental health issues, is the challenge of the next decade," said Jean-Nicolas Guillemette, Chief Operating Officer of Dialogue. "I believe this represents an opportunity to improve access to care for Canadians by encouraging employers, insurers as well as other organizations to invest in the health of their members. Our approach allows for new investments in healthcare at no cost to the government and ensures access to care remains for patients."
The Economic Impact of Telemedicine in Canada report also addresses the economic benefits to Canadian employers that adopt telemedicine platforms like Dialogue and Lumino Health Virtual Care. Companies that offer Dialogue telemedicine as part of their group benefits see on average a 32% Return on Investment (ROI), which considers productivity lost to employee transportation, waiting times, net cost of service and other factors associated with in-person care.
"As the largest provider of group benefits in the country, we understand the important role employers have in the physical and mental well-being of Canadians," said Dave Jones, President, Sun Life Health. "The need for timely, convenient access to care is top-of-mind for Canadians. Platforms like Lumino Health Virtual Care, powered by Dialogue, help address the challenges our healthcare system faces. Virtual care plays a critical role in supporting Canadians to live healthier lives."
Dialogue and Sun Life co-sponsored this study to evaluate the economic benefits of corporate paid virtual care for governments, employers and employees.
Methodology
Net benefits were derived based on direct reduction of public payments to physicians and emergency rooms operations, reduced absenteeism from work (transportation and wait times), the average cost of a teleconsultation for employers, and cost savings for the patients from avoided transportation.
Cost estimates were based on official data sources such as the Canadian Institute for Health Information and Statistics Canada, as well as economic literature, and government publications. Calculations were done on the basis of one teleconsultation that would have otherwise taken place at a clinic, at the emergency department, or that would not have occurred. These three possibilities were then averaged based on their respective likelihood as documented in the literature. As such, the estimates take into account the share of teleconsultations that represents new utilization, in addition to the share that constitutes substitutions.
About Dialogue
Incorporated in 2016, Dialogue Health Technologies Inc. (TSX: CARE) is Canada's premier virtual healthcare and wellness platform, providing affordable, on-demand access to quality care. Through our team of health professionals, we serve employers and organizations who have an interest in the health and well-being of their employees, members and their families. Our Integrated Health Platform(TM) is a one-stop healthcare hub that centralizes all of our programs in a single, user-friendly application, providing access to services 24 hours per day, 365 days per year from the convenience of a smartphone, computer or tablet.
About Sun Life
Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of December 31, 2021, Sun Life had total assets under management of $1.44 trillion. For more information please visit www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.
Note to editors: All figures in Canadian dollars
For more information about the report on economic impacts that telemedicine platforms like Dialogue are having on Canada's healthcare system, employers and patients, contact: Richard Fahey, Vice-prsident, AppEco: rfahey@appeco.ca.
SOURCE Dialogue Health Technologies Inc.
View original content to download multimedia: https://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2022/17/c4496.html
/CONTACT:
Jean-Christophe de Le Rue, Director of Public and Government Relations, jcdlr@dialogue.co, 613-806-0671
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March 17, 2022 07:00 ET (11:00 GMT)