Akira by TELUS Health is an application connecting patients to remote healthcare providers. The app is fully virtual, offering 24/7 on-demand consultations for policyholders and their families.
Founded in 2015, Akira was previously a startup company owned by Right Health. TELUS Health bought Akira in 2019.
TELUS Health is Canada's leading developer of healthcare technology and claims solutions. The company also offers employer benefits package solutions.
Employers can purchase Akira to add to their pre-existing TELUS Health employee benefits packages. Employees and their families can then use Akira for a low monthly subscription cost.
To get started with Akira, subscribers download the app and create a profile. Then, they can connect with a professional. Akira professionals are available via text or video chat for medical advice.
Akira enables all kinds of services, ranging from mental health help to specialist referrals.
Want to know more about Akira and whether this virtual medical service is right for you? Check out this guide for more about Akira and TELUS Health.
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What Types of Services Does Akira Health Offer?
Akira's professional providers offer many of the same services as a traditional health care setting. But unlike traditional medical care, patients can get the attention they need 24/7, 365 days a year.
Registered Nurses (RNs) and Nurse Practitioners (NPs) make up the majority of the providers who work with Akira. Akira also works with some physicians. The RNs and NPs Akira employs are qualified to:
- Administer one-on-one consultations
- Write prescriptions
- Write specialist referrals
- Offer mental health services
- Provide imaging services
- Provide diagnoses
- Order lab testing
- Schedule appointments with specialists
Akira's providers can forward information received through the app to the patient's primary care provider. The patient must first give consent.
Akira can be purchased as part of an employer's group benefits offerings. However, Akira should never replace regular doctor's checkups. TELUS designed Akira as a supplement to routine care.
Receiving these services virtually benefits employers and employees. Employees can avoid missing work for non-serious medical care. And employers get the advantage of better productivity and, thus, more profits.
Akira Health App
The Akira app is a secure platform. It allows benefits holders to receive care whenever and from wherever. Akira has providers available whether you prefer English or French.
When you log onto your account, you can access a provider immediately.
Choose to correspond with health care professionals via text. Or get face-to-face advice on a video chat. The typical text message response time is less than two minutes.
The Akira app is completely safe from online intruders and malicious hackers.
It complies with Canada's Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). That means that all consultations are secure. PHIPA also requires Akira to always encrypt patient health data store information at Canadian data centers.
You can download the Akira app for iPhone and Android. Get the app today via the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
How Much Does Akira Health Cost?
Akira costs $9.99 per month when you sign up for benefits through your employer-sponsored health plan. If you aren't happy with Akira, you can cancel the service at any time.
Public health insurance doesn't reimburse the cost of Akira, similar to the way going to the dentist isn't covered in Canada.
Akira Health Personal Health Solutions
Akira is available for Canadians whose employers offer the app as part of the employee benefits package. These employees' families are also eligible to use Akira services.
Eligible family members include spouses and dependents. However, dependents must be under the age of 26 to use Akira.
In addition to Akira, TELUS Health offers more solutions for covered employees. That includes the MyCare app, LivingWell Companion products, and the Healthy Living Network.
MyCare is similar to Akira because it's a virtual care app. MyCare enables patients to interface with family doctors, mental health professionals, and dieticians. Prescriptions, referrals, and advice about symptoms are available through the app.
The LivingWell line of products includes personal emergency devices for older adults. These devices can monitor health at home and alert emergency authorities if something goes wrong.
Subscribers get benefits like automatic fall detection and 24/7 emergency response services. And they can access these features on the go as well as at home.
In addition to providing the products and services needed for healthy living, TELUS has the education employees need. Employees in Alberta and B.C. can view on-demand educational health content via smartphone or laptop. These resources can boost employee health at no cost to employers.
Akira Solutions for Clinics and Physicians
TELUS Health is the country's largest provider of digital healthcare technology. Its leading electronic medical records (EMR) solution can help clinicians and physicians alike. After all, more than 28,000 providers use a TELUS EMR.
Whether you need to improve the patient experience or boost patient outcomes, TELUS's PS Suite has you covered. The PS Suite is turnkey for general practice. But it's also completely customizable for specialty physicians.
TELUS's Med Access EMR is another highly configurable EMR. It's web-based, allowing it to offer advantaged reporting and task management support. This is the solution physicians and specialists need to make better point-of-care decisions.
Are you searching for a comprehensive EMR for practices? TELUS's Wolf is the cloud-based product you're looking for. It provides real-time patient data and enables analytical insights into what your patients need most.
TELUS also offers a Collaborative Health Record (CHR) platform. The CHR platform features real-time patient data insights. And you won't have trouble navigating its intuitive, customizable user interface.
TELUS's CHR also offers the ability for patients to participate in their own healthcare journeys. Patients can securely log onto the TELUS CHR. They can then view medical notes and even schedule appointments and drug refills.
TELUS EMRs have complementary mobile apps, too. That way, you're always a touch away from your patient information. Manage everything from electronic prescriptions to virtual visits with TELUS Health EMR add ons.
Akira Solutions for Pharmacies
TELUS Health also offers solutions for pharmacists. The Kroll Pharmacy Management Solution (PMS) has a 30-year track record. 5,200 Canadian pharmacies use Kroll right now, excluding businesses in Quebec.
Why do so many pharmacists love Kroll? Because this leading PMS can streamline your operations. In that way, Kroll is helping pharmacies capture more revenues than ever before.
With the Kroll PMS, pharmacists get built-in drug validation systems. And these systems are compliant with all provincial requirements.
Kroll will also automate your workflow. So, you'll spend less time pushing papers and more time caring for your patients.
Plus, with Kroll's patient-friendly mobile platform, your customers can get involved. They can access their medication history and even order their own refills.
Here are some more things TELUS's PMS can do for your pharmacy:
- Enable seamless employee onboarding
- Allow patients to book online appointments
- Deliver virtual consultations to your patients remotely
There's so much more you can do with Kroll add-ons, too. For example, PharmaConnect empowers patients to schedule refills. And Assyst Point-of-Sale comes with an integrated inventory solution to simplify payment processes.
Akira Solutions for Allied Healthcare Professionals
TELUS also offers solutions for dieticians, dental hygienists, and other allied healthcare professionals.
For example, TELUS's direct billing eClaims platform allows you to submit claims electronically. This can provide benefits like:
- Quick and easy online registration for providers
- Reducing credit card fees for patients
- Seamless claims submissions to reduce denials and patient self-pay
TELUS further offers Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) eServices in Ontario. And it offers an online portal for WorkSafeBC providers in B.C.
68% of all Canadian allied healthcare workers use TELUS' eClaims products. And 90% of those professionals say they would recommend it to other allied healthcare workers. It's about time you found out why.
Akira Solutions for Employers and Group Health Benefits
A range of incredible IT products for the healthcare industry isn't all TELUS Health has to offer. The company also provides employer and group benefits solutions, including Akira.
Employer Solutions
Nearly 3 million Canadian employees have a TELUS Health benefit. Considering the invaluable employee health solutions the company offers, it's no wonder.
Employers can offer more convenient primary care through TELUS Health's Virtual Care product. This recently launched solution combines the power of Akira and EQ Care.
TELUS acquired EQ Care in 2021. The company produces even more specialized virtual care capabilities than Akira. EQ Care also features LifeJourney — employee assistance and wellbeing program.
With LifeJourney, patients can get personalized healthcare plans. Employees can also seek financial and legal advocacy through the app.
The LifeJourney solution boasts benefits like improved work/life balance. Users also report feeling less stress and increased efficiency at work.
Employees can also access TELUS's virtual guided learning therapy. Digital therapy offers advantages like:
- Better access to care
- More cost-effective
- Fewer mental health-related days off
Enrolled employees have access to professional support for anxiety and depression. And during this time of need, employees can find help during COVID-19 pandemic-related mental health crises.
These solutions aren't all employees can access, though. TELUS Health also offers Espri and Flexit360.
Espri is a leading mental health care app that offers quick access to mental health resources and more. The platform also allows for group video chats in subjects like fitness and provides peer mentoring and support.
Flexit360 is the employee benefits management platform all employers need. The easy-to-use solution enables employees to engage in their own insurance enrollment process. And Flexit360 can help you better manage and administer group plans.
Group Health Solutions
TELUS covers the full gamut of the claims process. It offers health products for insurance companies and third-party payers. And, of course, TELUS has solutions for employers and their employees.
It offers claims processing services and claims management tools for payers. Employers can access digital enrollment tools and benefits add ons like the Akira Health app. And patients get seamless access to virtual providers whenever they need care and wherever they're located.
Akira Virtual Care Resource Library
Do you offer TELUS Health Virtual Care or Akira solutions to your employees? Get all your questions about your virtual care benefits at TELUS's online resource library.
TELUS designed its resource library specifically for employers like you. You can access educational articles. These articles cover everything from increasing employee engagement to boosting mental health protections in the workplace.
Want to know what kind of ROI you can expect from your virtual care benefits? The resource page offers a free calculator to do just that. Plus, get industry reports showing why virtual care is so needed at your company.
Are you not convinced that Akira is right for your business? Then TELUS Health's case studies may do the trick.
Learn how first responders, insurance brokers, and more are harnessing the benefits of virtual care. And find out why employers offering virtual care are attracting more talent than ever.
Find all of these resources, webinars, articles, and more at the link above.
Ready to Compare Insurance Plans?
Akira Health is a virtual care app. People whose employees offer the Akira app as a benefit can subscribe. The cost for Akira by TELUS Health is only $9.99 per month.
TELUS is the leading telecommunication and healthcare IT company in Canada. In addition to Akira, it offers solutions for healthcare providers and payers. It also provides additional products employers can add to their group benefits packages.
Want to compare Akira to more group benefits offerings in Canada? You've come to the right place. Contact the pros at Insurdinary to find the affordable employee benefits plan you've been searching for.
