Canadian Occupational Safety

www.thesafetymag.com/ca 25 says Robin. "The barriers to get help are tremendous." Even if the person does consult, they may have to wait weeks or even months for a consultation. This can be off- putting in the long-term, even if the individual goes in once. Robin says 50 per cent of people who go in for a consult do not go in again. This means that some individuals may seek help too late or that employers will notice mental health issues in an employee late in the game. This is detrimental to the worker's health, but it can also impact the company if, for example, that worker has to take a leave of absence. "We've found that virtual care really addresses the biggest barriers in getting help and that we can address a mental health situation much earlier in the continuum between mental health and mental illness," says Robin. An advantage for employers "It is very important for employers to be proactive in providing virtual access to their employees and their families," says Robin. This helps protect their human capital, but it also keeps people at work and increases productivity. More and more, employers are looking at mental health as part of their broader health and safety concerns. In addition, with mental health becoming such an important part of the conversation on employee health, workers are becoming more and more open about mental illnesses and mental health struggles. These employees will certainly appreciate access to virtual care. The offer is also varied. Telehealth services may offer a range of options from coaching to help with work-life balance (a problem especially at the moment due to many employees working from home) to dealing with more advanced issues in which an individual may have to speak with a health-care practitioner such as a psychologist, psychotherapist, physician or nurse practitioner. Telehealth services may offer the user a more flexible approach as well as an easier access to health-care services and a shorter waiting time. This can also translate into shorter leaves of absence and/or less absenteeism at work, so there is also an advantage for the employer. Looking past COVID-19 Telehealth services are not just a solution for the present. Many experts — including Robin — reckon that virtual care is here for the long haul. Even after the pandemic, telemedicine will stay, says Robin. "The genie is out of the bottle," he says. "It will be an important part of how we access our health-care system." Telemedicine certainly offers a number of advantages. Although in-person care will not, and should not, be phased out, virtual care has some non-negligible aforementioned benefits that cannot be discounted. Virtual care is an interesting complement to a general health-care system and one that employers may be interested in looking into as part of their health plan. Whether just for a consult or for a more expansive treatment, more mental health solutions can only be a good thing. Finally, the silver lining is that the pandemic has "addressed the taboo of talking about mental health forever, hopefully," says Robin. "Mental health will be impacted by the next couple of years because of this pandemic, so it's really important that we can address this early in the course, keep people being able to work and help employers protect their human capital," says Robin. "Twenty-twenty was a great accelerator for telemedicine … We've increased the number of members we serve by a factor of 10 since the start of COVID." Dr. Marc Robin, Dialogue PATIENT DEMAND AND AVAILABILITY 71 per cent of Canadians would like to be able to book appointments electronically 63 per cent would like to be able to email their health-care provider 41 per cent of Canadians would like to have video visits with their health-care provider 37 per cent indicated that they would use virtual visits for either all or more than half of their physician visits Source: Survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) in 2018

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