60 per cent of Canadians wish they could access all health care services they need in one place. 61 per cent wish they didn't have to re-explain their conditions every time they talk to a new health care practitioner. As Canadians work to navigate our current health care system, they don't realize that their benefits provider could be at the forefront of an enhanced experience that seamlessly integrates a variety of digital health solutions with each other and their benefits plan. Until now. GreenShield announced it is launching a first-of-its-kind digital health and benefits ecosystem, GreenShield+, that will be available later this year.
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Imagine this: You wake up in the morning, sweating. Head pounding, heart racing, not well enough to go to work. You roll over, grab your phone, and open your app. You connect with a doctor who addresses you by name. To alleviate your discomfort, she prescribes medication and the app's pharmacy delivers it to your front door. A pharmacist is available to answer your questions. After addressing immediate pain relief, the doctor identifies the root cause of your symptoms as stress related. The app matches you to a therapist, and there's no need to repeat your story because it's already in the system. The therapist shares coping mechanisms and refers you to an online cognitive behavioural therapy program you can access from the app whenever you want, to build resilience. You go back to bed knowing the app is fully integrated with your benefits plan so there's no paperwork, and you are automatically reimbursed for all sources of funding your plan provides. It's a health care experience built around your needs.
The GreenShield+ app will offer streamlined, connected care and reimbursement by integrating the company's health services and benefits plans. Powered by Google Cloud and Microsoft technologies, GreenShield+ is establishing a new standard of care, backed by GreenShield's 65 years of expertise in insurance and industry leading health services.
GreenShield, the country's only national not-for-profit insurer, is also the only payer-provider in Canada. As a 'payer', GreenShield has a long history of offering insurance, administering benefits, and paying claims; and now, as a 'provider', GreenShield also delivers a variety of health care services such as mental health, telemedicine and pharmacy. Integrating both sides of the payer-provider equation enables GreenShield to simplify access to care, remove administrative barriers, and improve health outcomes for its customers.
"As a not-for-profit social enterprise focused on championing better health for all, helping to improve access to health care for all is rooted in GreenShield's DNA. As Canadians' needs have evolved, we have continued to innovate, evolving our offerings and services to deliver on our social mission," says President & CEO, Zahid Salman. "We know Canadians want to take control of their health, but face challenges accessing and navigating the health system. Canadians are looking for access, convenience, better integration, and improved health outcomes."
How GreenShield+ will simplify the health care journey
GreenShield+ will provide access to GreenShield's digital health and benefits offerings in one place, delivering a personalized, engaging, and simplified experience. Through unprecedented levels of integration and services that increasingly talk to each other, users can check their coverage, access their benefits, connect with health care providers, and get reimbursed for their claims all in one, easy-to-use place, accessible anytime, anywhere. This will bridge the typical gaps between payers and providers, giving Canadians timely access to the quality care they need, with effortless processing and payment of benefits claims. It will enable:
• Better Access: Connect easily with thousands of health professionals without long wait times.
• Better Convenience: Leverage services anytime, anywhere with effortless digital capabilities and seamless reimbursement of your benefits claims.
• Better Integration: Stop repeating your story. Personalized care and easier navigation with services that increasingly talk to each other and to your benefits plan.
• Better Health Outcomes: Leverage data-driven insights to take charge of your health and improve your quality of life.
GreenShield Cares about better health for all
While these monumental strides are paving the way, GreenShield's purpose of championing better health for all is inclusive, as it recognizes that many Canadians face barriers to accessing care. Through its social impact brand GreenShield Cares, the company reinvests its earnings and self-funds the deployment of its wholly-owned health services to support underserved and marginalized communities.
"As a not-for-profit social enterprise, GreenShield approaches universal access to health care through an altruistic lens," says Salman. "Our goal is to invest $75M to improve the lives of at least one million Canadians by 2025."
This goal will be achieved through initiatives like GreenShield Cares' Women's Mental Health (offering free mental health services to women) and Oral Health (funding research about the importance and impact of oral health on overall health, and on delivering dental care to the working poor). In just over a year, the company has already helped nearly 60,000 women access free mental health services, and it has helped over 35,000 underserved Canadians access free dental care.
A new look to reflect a new vision
As part of its evolution, the industry's noble challenger is also unveiling new branding. Under the overarching GreenShield enterprise brand, there are now three lines of business: GreenShield Insurance, GreenShield Administration and GreenShield Health, working together to integrate GreenShield's payer-provider offerings based on the unique needs of each member.
"The rebrand is about far more than an iconic new logo," says Mandy Mail, SVP Marketing & Communications, GreenShield. "We have completed eight acquisitions in two years to strengthen our offering. The new branding visually unites our services and is reflective of the innovative, tech-forward integrated payer-provider GreenShield has become. "
