Amid the pandemic, the whole world including Canada is now finally understanding the urgency of the telehealth app.

A telehealth app is the best way we have right now to not pile up people in the hospital without taking away their fundamental right to get quality healthcare services.

Thanks to its advantages, people nowadays prefer telehealth apps rather than visiting clinics.

As an upshot, the telehealth market is booming exceptionally. And as an entrepreneur, you should not misfire this opportunity. If you believe the same, we’ve got your back!

In this blog, we will discuss the best telehealth app available in Canada - Babylon by TELUS Health. We will share everything you need to know to develop telehealth app like Babylon in Ontario.

But to make your understanding more rational, we will list down 10 questions you might have right now with its answers before going for telehealth app development. 

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• How to start a virtual care service in Canada?

Question #1: What are the benefits of telehealth apps during a healthcare crisis like COVID-19? 

If you are planning to develop telehealth app like Babylon in Ontario, you should know why and under what circumstances people install your telehealth app and use it. The current situation created by the coronavirus outbreak is helping telehealth apps to get a great number of users. The following are the top benefits of telehealth apps during the COVID-19 period. 

• Healthcare professionals can treat patients remotely who have mild symptoms of the COVID-19. This practice can free up space in the hospitals for critical patients.
• By using the telehealth app, healthcare professionals can avoid direct contact with the COVID-19 patients and even non-COVID-19 patients which eventually saves the lives of both patients and healthcare professionals. 
• Telehealth healthcare service through the app isn’t limited to only a small region. Anyone from anywhere in the world can use the app as the patients or doctors if the app owner and government allow. This means doctors sitting in their homes in one country can treat patients in badly affected countries from coronavirus. After all, countries have to share resources to contain coronavirus globally. 

Question #2: What are the benefits of the telehealth app beyond COVID-19?

The telehealth app like Babylon is very purposeful for non-COVID-19 patients and non-COVID-19 treatment. The following are the top benefits of the telehealth app like Babylon beyond COVID-19.

• Easy access to care: People can get world-class medical services from top-notch doctors without leaving their homes. They can talk to the doctors directly from the mobile app.
• Rapid care: Telehealth provides the fastest care possible. Many telehealth apps claim that they connect patients to doctors within 2 minutes. It is because of the sophisticated algorithm which matches patients with the doctors.
• Affordable care: A telehealth app like Babylon saves costs for both hospitals and patients. It eliminates transportation and hospitalization expenses.

Question #3: Which are the top telehealth apps available in Canada and what are their top cons?

The following is the list of top telehealth apps available in Canada and their top cons.

This learning is very important for you if you are planning to develop a telehealth app like Babylon in Ontario and want to dominate the market.

You can add these missing features (Cons) of other apps into your app and easily build a large user base.

WebMD:

• Not a live doctor visit
• No prescription
• No medical notes
• Not a health record-keeping solution

Telehealth:

• No prescription
• No medical notes
• Not a health record-keeping solution

Ask the Doctor:

• Not a live doctor visit
• No prescription
• No medical notes
• Not a health record-keeping solution

EQ Virtual :

• Fixed hours of access
• Video mandatory for every visit
• Available on in B.C.

Question #4: How popular is the Babylon telehealth app in Canada?

Babylon is the telehealth app which was developed and launched by TELUS Health. According to Wikipedia, TELUS Health, formerly known as Emergis was acquired by TELUS in 2007. TELUS serves in the healthcare industry with its one division named TELUS Health. It also serves in real estate and financial industries with its other two divisions named TELUS Assyst and TELUS Financial Solutions.

TELUS Health has initially launched its telehealth app in British Columbia. According to a survey conducted by TELUS Health for Babylon, 94% of respondents agreed that the use of the Babylon telehealth app is very easy and 92% of respondents said that their request was solved before the end of the consultation.

Question #5: What is the most unique feature of the Babylon telehealth app?

Needless to say that AI technology is revolutionizing the healthcare industry globally. However, putting AI to good use is the challenge all healthcare entities are facing.

But talking about Babylon, they have integrated a very serviceable AI-enabled feature called Symptom Checker. It asks users questions about their symptoms and suggests a possible course of action.

You should also add a few AI-enabled features in your telehealth app if you are planning to develop telehealth app like Babylon in Ontario.

AI-enabled features provide accurate information to patients without consuming any human resources.

You should read: Different ways AI is impacting telehealth

Question #6: What are the other features of the Babylon telehealth app which one should consider to develop an alternative to the Babylon app?

The following are the top features of the Babylon telehealth app which you have to take into account to develop telehealth app like Babylon in Ontario.

Video Consultations with a doctor:

• Book an appointment
• Prescriptions and referrals for diagnostic tests
• Built-in video call, chat, and voice call 

Symptom Checker:

• Chat-style Symptom Checker
• Available 24/7
• AI-enabled 

Clinical records:

• Save doctor consultation notes 
• Record calls and save it
• Save prescriptions

Question #7: Where does Babylon app available in Canada and how much does Babylon telehealth service cost?

According to the official source of TELUS Health, the Babylon app is available in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario.

Residents in these provinces who are covered under MSP, AHCIP, or OHIP can access virtual appointments at no direct cost.

Alternatively, patients without provincial health insurance in these provinces can access telehealth services from Babylon app for $65 per physician appointment.

Question #8: What is the major challenge you have to overcome to develop a telehealth app in Ontario?

A telehealth app like Babylon stores the medical and personal data of the patients. To avoid the abuse of the data and to ensure the privacy of the patient data, the government has imposed many rules under PHIPA.

PHIPA known as the Personal Health Information Protection Act was established in 2004 to govern personal health information. PHIPA establishes the rules for data collection, data use, and disclosure of the personal health information of the patients.

So, the challenge here is, your telehealth app should be PHIPA compliant and to be PHIPA compliant, your telehealth app should meet all guidelines.

If an individual is found guilty of committing an offence under PHIPA, he can be liable for the fine up to $100,000. And if an organization commits an offence under PHIPA, it can be liable for the fine up to $500,000.

Question #9: How can we help you develop a telehealth app like Babylon in Ontario?

We are the top Ontario-based IT consulting and healthcare-focused development firm.

We accommodate business experts, legal experts, app developers, and app designers to make your business journey painless.

Our designers and app developers are well-versed enough to develop the unsurpassable telehealth app with all disruptive features.

If you have your own team of app developers, you can hire only our consultation team to get expert advice on legal concerns, user-centric app design, app development strategy, and even marketing campaigns.

Questions #10: How much does telehealth app development in Ontario cost?

Telehealth app development in Ontario depends on many factors such as the complexity of the app, design & development approach, platform, and hourly charges of developers.

You can schedule a one-on-one meeting with our expert to share your requirements, get a telehealth app demo, and get an instant quote.