{"id":430,"date":"2020-05-01T22:25:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-02T05:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/?p=430"},"modified":"2023-05-26T09:26:10","modified_gmt":"2023-05-26T16:26:10","slug":"trends-free-resources-in-digital-virtual-telehealth-care-for-british-columbia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/2020\/05\/01\/trends-free-resources-in-digital-virtual-telehealth-care-for-british-columbia\/","title":{"rendered":"Trends &#038; Free Resources in Digital, Virtual &#038; Telehealth Care for British Columbia"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"430\" class=\"elementor elementor-430\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-dc37e02 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"dc37e02\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-359f48f\" data-id=\"359f48f\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f2d875 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3f2d875\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>By\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ca.linkedin.com\/in\/howardch\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">Howard Cheung, Account Executive, Immix Group: An Employee Benefits Company<\/a><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>As society navigates COVID19 and embraces the new norms of social distancing and virtual meetings, the way we access healthcare has possibly changed forever.<\/p><p>While many virtual options have long been available, people are adopting these at an increased rate out of necessity, and providers are responding to the demand with upgrades and new systems. Healthcare providers have rapidly adapted to providing services to patients, from inside the safety of their homes, many tailored to the health situations the pandemic has triggered or exacerbated. As well, during this time, many providers are stepping up to provide\u00a0<em>free<\/em>\u00a0resources.<\/p><p>We compiled a list of services, as well as other related information sources. As coverage varies from province to province, this article focuses on services available to those in British Columbia. \u00a0<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><h3><strong>Free Mental Health Support<\/strong><\/h3><p>The need for mental health support has never been greater. The impacts of the coronavirus are not only for those who have been infected. We are all dealing with uncertainty, fear, social isolation, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/11\/17\/3-action-steps-employers-can-take-to-reduce-employee-financial-stress-and-increase-financial-literacy\/\">financial stress<\/a> burnout, anxiety, depression- the list goes one. Accessing support can be done virtually:<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><ul class=\"fa-ul\"><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i><strong>\u00a0Thrive Health App (Free for download):<\/strong>\u00a0COVID19 Self Assessment Tool \/ Stats \/ Symptom Tracker:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thrive.health\/canada-covid19-app\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.thrive.health\/canada-covid19-app<\/a><\/li><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i><strong>\u00a0Starling Minds:\u00a0<\/strong>Digital mental health therapy for COVID-19 anxiety.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/info.starlingminds.com\/covid19-free-mental-health\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/info.starlingminds.com\/covid19-free-mental-health<\/a><\/li><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i><strong>\u00a0Wellness Together Canada:<\/strong>\u00a0Government of Canada free online resources, tools, apps and connections to trained volunteers and qualified mental health professionals\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ca.portal.gs\/\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/ca.portal.gs\/<\/a><\/li><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i><strong>\u00a0Inkblot:<\/strong>\u00a0Online therapy through video conferencing, with over 200 therapists that you can book sessions with. The first visits are free and sessions thereafter cost $37.50 per 30 minute of individual counselling.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/inkblottherapy.com\/\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/inkblottherapy.com\/<\/a><\/li><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i>\u00a0<strong>Talkspace<\/strong>: During COVID19, Talkspace offers free therapist led sessions via Facebook support groups.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.talkspace.com\/covid-resources\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.talkspace.com\/covid-resources<\/a><\/li><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i><strong>Abestos Free Mental Health Guide:<\/strong>\u00a0Abestos offers a free guide on Mental Health and Mesothelioma :\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.asbestos.com\/support\/mental-health\/\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">Mental Health and Mesothelioma | Coping, Treatment &amp; Support (asbestos.com)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><h3><strong>Virtual Specialist Care through your benefits plan:<\/strong><\/h3><p>Many insurance carriers are now covering claims for virtual therapist and specialist care which may include:<\/p><ul class=\"fa-ul\"><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i>\u00a0Registered counselling<\/li><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i>\u00a0Psychological services<\/li><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i>\u00a0Naturopathic services<\/li><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i>\u00a0Physiotherapy<\/li><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i>\u00a0Chiropractic services<\/li><\/ul><p><br \/>Check with your specific carrier to confirm which ones they may cover, as well as if your chosen therapist provides online care.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><h3><strong>On-Demand Medical \/ Virtual Doctor<\/strong><\/h3><ul class=\"fa-ul\"><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i>\u00a0<strong>Pocket pills:<\/strong>\u00a0Free to use online prescription fulfilment (no extra charges on top of usual cost of prescription), Can transfer your existing prescription. Easy.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/app.pocketpills.com\/?referral_code=howayxx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.pocketpills.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/li><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i>\u00a0<strong>Babylon by TELUS:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0The Babylon app is free to download and use. In BC, our provincial medical plan (MSP) covers doctor consultations on this platform, from your phone, right in your own home.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telus.com\/en\/bc\/health\/personal\/babylon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.telus.com\/en\/bc\/health\/personal\/babylon<\/a><\/li><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i>\u00a0<strong>tiaHealth:<\/strong>\u00a0Another online doctor service that can provide advice, referrals, requisitions, mental health support and more. Doctor consultations are covered under MSP.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tiahealth.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/tiahealth.com\/<\/a><\/li><li><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i>\u00a0<strong>Medimap<\/strong>: Medimap provides access to a doctor virtually, nearly instantly. It also includes a handy tool that advises on the wait time for walk-in clinics, should you need to see a doctor in person.\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/medimap.ca\/VirtualCare\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/medimap.ca\/VirtualCare<\/a><\/li><\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p><h3><strong>Employee Assistance Programs:<\/strong><\/h3><p>Most employer sponsored extended health programs include some basic form of EAP. EAP providers have easy online access for their services. Check with your Employer on how to access your EAP.<\/p><p>In addition, most of the major EAP providers have free resources online. In particular, Morneau Shepell&#8217;s Toolkit for Individuals has a wealth or resources available for free.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.morneaushepell.com\/ca-en\/toolkit-individuals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.morneaushepell.com\/ca-en\/toolkit-individuals<\/a><\/p><p>For more details on how an EAP can help you, check out our article on\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.immixgroup.ca\/EAP.html\">http:\/\/www.immixgroup.ca\/EAP.html<\/a><\/p><p>There are countless virtual options available to you. We encourage you to research the provider and ensure you are accessing qualified professionals, and that where possible, the services are free or covered under provincial or extended medical plans.<\/p><p>If you have any questions on digital healthcare, maximizing your digital <a href=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/07\/13\/hybrid-traditional-flexible-employee-benefits-a-sample-design-for-smbs\/\">benefits<\/a>, or how to best restructure your benefits for optimal value, feel free to contact me:\u00a0<em><u>howard@immixgroup.ca<\/u><\/em><u><\/u><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b2c98e0 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b2c98e0\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-61b0afd\" data-id=\"61b0afd\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8b7da34 elementor-widget elementor-widget-global elementor-global-227 elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8b7da34\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script src=\"https:\/\/apps.elfsight.com\/p\/platform.js\" defer><\/script>\n<div class=\"elfsight-app-83f14fdc-92b5-4456-9af4-0934ad166639\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-604ced0 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"604ced0\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-baf86ca\" data-id=\"baf86ca\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d5b3e73 elementor-widget elementor-widget-global elementor-global-287 elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"d5b3e73\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"960\" src=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Howard-683x1024.avif\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1986\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Howard-683x1024.avif 683w, https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Howard-200x300.avif 200w, https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Howard-768x1152.avif 768w, https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Howard.avif 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" title=\"\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-66 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-285c31e\" data-id=\"285c31e\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e2e0a1f elementor-widget elementor-widget-global elementor-global-290 elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e2e0a1f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3><span class=\"cert\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/howardch\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Howard Cheung BBA<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\nEmployee Benefits Consultant, Immix Group: An Employee Benefits Company\n<strong>A<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2602.5699178039927!2d-123.12053598382099!3d49.28454617855886!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x54867181f97930d5%3A0x9797e526e8704198!2s888%20Dunsmuir%20St%20%23450%2C%20Vancouver%2C%20BC%20V6C%203K4!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sca!4v1583124389424!5m2!1sen!2sca\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener\">Suite 450 &#8211; 888 Dunsmuir St. Vancouver V6C 3K4<\/a><\/p><p>\n<strong>Ph<\/strong> <a href=\"tel:6046885559\">604-688-5559<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p><strong>E<\/strong> <a href=\"mailto:info@immixgroup.ca\">info@immixgroup.ca<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>W<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.immixgroup.ca\/\">www.immixgroup.ca<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By&nbsp;Howard Cheung, Account Executive, Immix Group: An Employee Benefits Company As society navigates COVID19 and embraces the new norms of social distancing and virtual meetings, the way we access healthcare has possibly changed forever. While many virtual options have long been available, people are adopting these at an increased rate out of necessity, and providers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employee-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1055,"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430\/revisions\/1055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/immixgroup.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}