Frequently asked questions: TELUS Health Virtual Care

If you are new to TELUS Health Virtual Care, simply follow the steps outlined in the activation email titled, “Welcome to TELUS Health Virtual Care” or activation flow-chart.

If you need help registering, please contact [email protected].

Accessing TELUS Health Virtual Care is free for the member.

All members have access to allied health professionals that include mental health therapy, psychology, dietician, nutritional services and physiotherapy (ON only) which is paid by the member. To book an appointment you will be required to process a payment. Once the payment has been accepted, you will be sent an email receipt which you can use to claim through your personal benefit/insurance coverage.

Your TELUS Health Virtual Care membership lasts for as long as you are covered by your plan sponsor.

Yes, all accounts include coverage to your spouse/partner and dependent children under the age of 26 whose permanent address is the same as yours. Please note, this service is not applicable to any other family members living with you other than the members previously stated (i.e. parents).

TELUS Health Virtual Care is currently available for Android 6.0 and above, and iOS 11+ for iPhone 5s and above. A web-based version that works on most desktop computers is also available. For web based applications, please visit virtualcare.telushealth.com/patient.

You can use it as often as you need!

Yes - we are proud to provide on-demand services in every province and territory across Canada, 24/7, in French and English.

We are available 24/7. You can speak at any point in time with a healthcare practitioner. Appointments with allied health professionals are scheduled during business hours.

You can only use our virtual services within Canada. This is a restriction advised on all Canadian virtual care providers as of early 2021.

Yes, TELUS Health Virtual Care exclusively employs nurses, nurse practitioners, doctors, therapists, and other healthcare professionals who are licensed to work in the provinces they serve.

No, TELUS Health Virtual Care is not a replacement for your family doctor, nor will your family doctor be penalized if you use our service. If you provide consent, we will keep your family doctor updated on any changes to your health as you use TELUS Health Virtual Care.

In fact, we are the first Canadian virtual care service that has the unique ability to share information via electronic medical records to 32,000 clinicians across Canada, with your written consent.

All sensitive data is encrypted and stored in highly secure data centres located in Canada. Unlike services like FaceTime or Skype, video consults on TELUS Health Virtual Care are end-to-end encrypted, and instant messages are treated as part of your medical record in strict compliance with provincial and federal privacy laws.

We routinely perform third party penetration testing and threat risk assessments to ensure that our security practices are up-to-date and effective. Our systems are audited by an accredited third party under the SOC 2 Type II reporting standard. We also restrict access to medical information based on region and role: only you and the clinical team directly involved in your care can access your medical records.

Our health care practitioners are regulated by their professional colleges and are expected to follow all standards and guidelines put forward by each jurisdiction in which they are licensed. Some examples of such documents include guidelines on telemedicine/virtual care, patient confidentiality and privacy and continuing competence. These types of guidelines ensure clinicians provide safe and competent care to all patients.

In addition to the above, our clinicians also follow clinical guidelines put forward by national bodies of experts to ensure patients receive current evidence based care. Some examples of such guidelines include the assessment and diagnosis of hypertension published by Hypertension Canada and screening for diabetes in adults by Diabetes Canada.

Our nurse practitioners follow a number of guidelines from the professional bodies in their respective provinces. Some examples include the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) Telepractice Guidelines and The Canadian Nurses Protective Society (CNPS) infoLAW article on telepractice.

Concurrently, physicians are guided by their respective provincial college telepractice guidelines in addition to the Canadian Medical Protective Association's Telehealth and Virtual Care publications.

We work with a number of full-time and part-time nurse practitioners to provide coverage across several provinces. Our healthcare practitioners are on salary, meaning their only incentive is to provide the best possible quality of care - there is no incentive for them to rush through consults.

Virtual care should not be used for emergencies – in the case of an emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency department.

Virtual care should not be used as your primary clinician for chronic disease, cancer, or other complex care conditions. We can help where appropriate, but don’t replace your primary care doctor and specialists.

Lastly, our virtual care clinicians do not prescribe narcotics or controlled substances via the app.

Video consults are used to validate identity and as part of certain clinical diagnostic tests and exams. If you are asked to do a video consultation by a clinician but are not in a private enough space, please feel free to re-engage with the clinician when you are in a private space.

Video consults are also always used when parents initiate a consultation for their children. The video helps the clinician confirm the child’s identity as well as assess their symptoms, and look for anything the parent may have missed.