Telus Health, the wellness and medical division of Telus, launched its digital Virtual Pharmacy service in Canada on Monday to increase Canadians’ accessibility to prescription medications.
The service allows the patient to manage their prescriptions and chat with a pharmacist through video or audio through a single portal. It will also coordinate any medical insurance payments and only bill the user for the portions that aren’t covered.
Delivery across Canada is free, and Telus promises to deliver the medicines within one to three days. It also provides tracking information and refills reminders. The service will even organize the medications into individually sealed MedPaks labelled with the date and time of each dose if the patient takes more than three pills a day.
According to Telus’ press release, busy lifestyles caused a third of Canadians to miss picking up their prescription medications on time in the past year. Among them, nearly 60 per cent said it slipped their minds and almost 50 per cent reported family and work commitments took precedence.
Online pharmacies have gained popularity in recent years due to their convenience. But as Health Canada warns, 74 per cent of online pharmacies in North America are not trustworthy. Additionally, 74 per cent of Canadian sites source medications outside of Canada. It’s important to select a reputable service to avoid receiving low-quality, ineffective prescriptions or having your personal information stolen.
Telus, now a household name in Canada due to its telecommunication services and various other branches, is leveraging its established reputation to beat competitors like Pocketpills. The service’s no commitment signup is also attractive to users.
Telus Virtual Pharmacy is available in all Canadian provinces except Quebec. The service is free to join. It’s available through its mobile app for iOS and Android. A French version will arrive in the coming months.