Canada Life and virtual healthcare and wellness platform firm Dialogue Health Technologies have jointly announced that Dialogue’s internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) program will be made available to all Canada Life Consult+ users across Canada.
According to Statistics Canada, almost one-quarter of respondents (22.6 per cent) with unmet or partially met needs prefer to manage their mental health on their own.
Canada Life started working with Dialogue in March 2020, to become the first insurer in Canada to make virtual health care a standard benefit for employers with Canada Life group benefits plans with up to 400 plan members. As part of the partnership, employees and their dependents were granted access to Dialogue’s fully-bilingual virtual health care platform, available through a mobile app or web browser.Â
For those who are covered by their workplace benefits, Consult+ gives time-efficient access to qualified doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals, with services provided by Dialogue. Â
With the updated iCBT program, plan members can access self-led mental health support for mild to moderate depression and anxiety, motivating them to take a proactive approach to their well-being, and be better positioned to reach their full potential, noted Brad Fedorchuk, executive vice-president, Group Customer, Canada Life.
iCBT uses similar principles and techniques as in-person cognitive behavioural therapy programs, but is delivered in a structured digital format consisting of educational material and interactive toolkits, Dialogue explained.Â
Earlier this month Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada announced the acquisition of 6,036,144 common shares of Dialogue for an aggregate purchase price of CA$48,289,152, or CA$8.00 per share, pursuant to a private agreement with certain third parties. This further investment follows Sun Life’s initial announcement of a strategic commercial partnership and CA$32.7 million equity investment in Dialogue.
