With a fresh round of financing under its belt, a Montreal-based tech firm selling companies on the idea of increasing productivity by reducing the amount of time their employees spend at medical appointments is expanding into Ontario. Dialogue connects customers’ employees with doctors and nurses online for consultations, diagnoses and treatment plans through their mobile devices. Though the startup has been operating for less than a year, it counts global consultants McKinsey & Company and BCG (Boston Consulting Group) and law firms Dentons and BCF, which has 220 legal professionals in Quebec, among its customers. Companies pay Dialogue a set fee per employee covered, which gives the employee and their family access to Dialogue’s roster of nurses and doctors, including specialists in emergency medicine, dermatology, and pediatrics. The idea isn’t to keep sick employees at their desks, but rather to cut down on time spent in clinics and emergency rooms waiting to see a doctor, says Cherif Habib, co-founder and chief executive of the mobile healthcare firm. “When somebody needs to go to the doctor, they could easily miss half a day.… If you can save that half a day at the doctor’s, there’s a big ROI (return on investment for the company) there,” he says. While some people might not be comfortable sharing sensitive health information over a mobile device, Habib says the communication between medical professionals and patients — including video chats and direct messaging — is secure and bound by the same confidentiality rules as a regular visit to a doctor. Dialogue is part of a wave of startups in mobile healthcare segment, where a handful of companies have launched and received funding in the past year. Dialogue itself just raised $4 million in fresh seed money to fund the expansion outside Quebec. The latest financing was led by Diagram, a fintech-focused venture capital fund that is backed by Power Financial Corp. The investor group also includes BDC Capital, Canada’s business development bank; Hacking Health Accelerator; and angel investors such as Mark Cohen, co-founder of laser eye surgery juggernaut Lasik MD. Other players in the mobile healthcare sector include Toronto-based Newtopia, which raised $10 million in October to fund the expansion of its platform that features genetic testing and personalized coaching for employees. The pitch is to create a more productive workforce where “at-risk” employees better manage their health and lifestyles, and employers reduce healthcare costs. Akira, an app-based startup also based in Toronto, sells directly to customers, with single medical consultations for $49 and unlimited family packages for $240 a year, according to the firm’s website. Another startup, TranQool, is pitching a niche mobile healthcare service that links individuals with accredited mental health counsellors for online video sessions. Habib says further growth in the sector is expected as new healthcare technology is developed. For example, if “wearables” that monitor vital signs and even insulin levels were approved, rates of remote diagnoses and treatment plans would be expected to rise, he said. Already, some estimates suggest up to 70 per cent of primary care visits don’t require a physical exam, Habib said, citing examples such as ordering or reviewing blood tests and renewing prescriptions.
Montreal-based start-up Dialogue has introduced an online mobile platform that allows individuals to have a doctor's consultation at work. With a fee per employee, Dialogue offers a doctor-on-demand service that offers a medical checkup for employees at their desks across range of specialities including emergency medicine and paediatrics. The service is not designed to keep ill employees at work but rather to cut down on time spent at appointments. Although currently limited to a few Canadian cities, the company counts McKinsey and Co and BCG among its customers.