A new Statistics Canada report has found that telephone consultations remain the primary mode of virtual health care delivery in Canada, with video visits still accounting for a small fraction of interactions despite high patient satisfaction overall — findings with direct implications for group benefits insurers and employers managing health plan design.
The report, Patient Experiences with Virtual Health Care in Canada: Modes of Delivery and Satisfaction with Care, found that family doctors and nurse practitioners used telephone for 77.9% of virtual visits, while specialists conducted telephone appointments 62.1% of the time. Video was used more frequently for specialist consultations, accounting for 21.8% of virtual specialist visits compared to 9.2% of family doctor and nurse practitioner visits.
The report found females, individuals with chronic conditions and frequent health care users were more likely to use virtual care. Overall patient satisfaction was high, with video visits in particular associated with better outcomes on doctor communication, care coordination and global ratings than telephone. Satisfaction was lower among those without a regular health care provider or experiencing financial difficulties, a finding the researchers attributed to the importance of continuity of care.
The Statistics Canada findings arrive as virtual care has become a standard component of Canadian group benefits plans and a key differentiator among major insurers. Sun Life, Manulife, Canada Life and Desjardins each offer virtual care platforms as part of their group benefits offerings.
Statistics Canada research cited by virtual care provider Maple shows that 42.5% of Canadians who sought care in 2023 used virtual care at least once, with nearly 80% of people who were offered it accepting it. Usage is even higher among people managing multiple chronic conditions and those without a regular primary care provider, the same groups that influence absenteeism, disability costs and escalating claims.
The concentration of virtual care use among chronic condition patients and frequent health care users is particularly significant for group benefits insurers. These cohorts tend to be the highest-cost claimants in extended health plans, and the degree to which virtual care can substitute for or complement in-person care directly affects plan utilisation patterns, drug claim trajectories and disability incidence.
Virtual care has moved from optional to expected in Canadian group benefits plans, with providers noting that a plan offering only standardised virtual care access is no longer sufficient, and that how care is designed, connected and utilised is where employers will see meaningful results.
Group benefits insurers face an unresolved policy question about the status of employer-sponsored virtual care under the Canada Health Act Services Policy, which came into effect on April 1, 2026. The policy clarifies that medically necessary services, whether provided by a physician or another regulated health professional such as a nurse practitioner, are expected to be covered under provincial and territorial health insurance plans. Provinces and territories that do not prevent patients from being charged for such services risk reductions in future Canada Health Transfer payments.
The policy raises the question of whether virtual health care offered through employer-sponsored benefits plans constitutes medically necessary care. Ezaque Lopes, head of strategic partnerships at Arthur J. Gallagher, has argued that the employer-sponsored model is not asking Canadians to pay for access to health care. "It's something the employer is doing in order to accomplish a number of things, from increasing the productivity of their workforce to addressing competitive pressures to allowing employees to be much more efficient with their time," he said. "That's where we think there's a distinction."
Todd Stephen, vice-president of employee benefits and pensions at Selectpath Benefits and Financial and past chair of the Benefits Alliance, has warned that if the policy is upheld and enforced, "there are going to be some interesting collateral impacts — not only to access to care, but also to these health-care professionals and how they prefer to offer their services." Provinces continue to take different positions on insuring virtual services, with Quebec having legislated to allow employer-paid virtual care while other provinces have yet to clarify their approach.
The Statistics Canada finding that satisfaction is lower among those without a regular provider points to a structural limitation in how virtual care is currently used by many Canadians, episodically rather than as part of a continuous care relationship.
For insurers and plan sponsors, that pattern suggests the design question is not simply whether to include virtual care, but whether the service is integrated into a broader primary care and chronic disease management framework that drives better member outcomes and lower long-term claims costs.
