Imagine it’s a Monday morning and you’ve woken up with a fever and a pounding headache. Instead of waiting in line at a nearby walk-in clinic, you reach for your phone, open an app and connect with a doctor in a matter of minutes. Do you require medication? Picture receiving a prescription in real time and having it delivered directly to your door, all while a pharmacist is available on the app to answer your questions. Not to mention that your insurance provider and care provider are fully integrated, so there’s no paperwork involved and no need to pay out of pocket. The only thing left to do is get better. 

This is the future of health care and benefits, according to GreenShield. The 65-year-old insurance company is Canada’s only national not-for-profit insurer. It is also the country’s only payer-provider—meaning it is the only insurer to offer health care services, insurance and reimbursement all in one place. Leveraging this expertise, later this year, GreenShield will be launching a first-of-its-kind digital health and benefits ecosystem, GreenShield+, which will integrate its payer-provider offering and reinvent the health care and benefits experience.

Accessibility is one of the greatest challenges facing Canada’s health care system today. One in five Canadians doesn’t have a family physician, and for those who do, immediate care is not guaranteed. Over the past 30 years, the average wait time between referral and treatment has increased by almost 300 per cent. 

GreenShield aims to change that. GreenShield+ will offer streamlined, connected care that is fully integrated with its benefits plans. Beyond the company’s long-time health and dental benefits, GreenShield+ will empower Canadians by putting directly integrated access to its mental health, digital pharmacy and telemedicine services, all in the palms of their hands. 

“It’s not just about simplifying the experience,” says Zahid Salman, president & CEO of GreenShield Canada. “It’s about improving health outcomes and enabling better health for all by changing mindsets about what better access and integration can look like.” 

The pandemic accelerated the demand for virtual care. “Through our research, we’ve found that 90 per cent of Canadians have either used a digital health service or are open to using one,” says Salman. “Additionally, 60 per cent wish they could access all of their health care services in one place.” 

GreenShield+ was designed to address these emerging demands by bridging the gap between payers and providers in a way that enables health care services to talk to each other, and to the user’s benefits plan, redefining what care can look like in Canada. “As a not-for-profit social enterprise, our focus on better health for all is driven by an altruistic goal,” says Salman. “Our top priority is to generate $75 million of social impact investments by 2025, to positively impact the lives of at least one million Canadians. We are uniquely positioned to focus on what Canadians need because, as a not-for-profit, our only focus is Canadians and their health and well-being.” 

By honing in on communication and collaboration among health care providers, GreenShield+ is designed to ensure Canadians can maximize the value of their benefits by accessing comprehensive, integrated care that considers their diverse health needs. By proxy, this approach results in improved health outcomes and sets a new standard of care that considers all the experiences and challenges Canadians are facing when it comes to their health. 

Anticipated for nationwide release later this year, GreenShield+ is poised to reinvent the health care and benefits experience.

Watch the CB Insider Fireside Chat with GreenShield CEO Zahid Salman