Care at Your Fingertips
Benefits of telemedicine for the construction industry
In 2017, 4.7 million Canadians 12 and over didn’t have a
family doctor to see regularly.1
Today, many are wondering how important that family
doctor really is. After all, you can always pop into a walkin
clinic or an urgent care centre if you get sick, or you can
ignore that sore throat and nagging cough and hope it goes
away on its own.
For those in the construction industry, where shift work
is the norm, it can be tough to schedule a regular appointment
with a doctor, let alone a last-minute sick visit. Canada
is one of only three countries in the world that doesn’t have a
national paid sick day policy.2 So a construction worker may
not have any paid sick days, and a trip to the doctor if they
even have one isn’t just a challenge to co-ordinate, but also a
financial hit they may not be able to afford.
Enter telemedicine. Until recently, it was the rare construction
company that was offering telemedicine options
to their employees. However, the urgent necessity of social
distancing and the potential overwhelming of the medical
system due to COVID-19 have pushed many construction
companies to look for unconventional solutions.
Although some employers may be tempted to commit
to the first telemedicine provider they come across online,
HUMAN RESOURCES
it’s still worth keeping a few considerations in mind before
signing up:
• Know what you are buying. The cheapest option or the
fastest onboarding process may be important today, but
make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Often, the
less expensive options offer just a thin layer of coverage
rather than more comprehensive coverage, longer wait
times, a cap on the number of visits, limited hours or
by-appointment only.
• Understand the different models. Some digital health
providers offer widespread, supportive coverage, while
others address only a specific area, such as mental health
support or online pharmacy. Understanding the way each
provider offers coverage can help determine which version
will work best for employees.
• Learn about cyber risks. Make sure to ask questions
about data storage, managing patient records, platform
security and quality controls. Clarify the ways patient
information is shared with their regular physicians – and
whether any aggregated data is provided to the employer.
This is important information for future intervention
program planning. Finally, consider any education and
support for new users.
By Mary-Lou MacDonald
It can be challenging to
commit to a new service
from an unfamiliar
provider, especially when
under pressure to select
one. The good news is that
a number of providers
are offering short term
contracts because of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
DROGATNEV/123RF
PILING CANADA 63
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