Lumeca's VP of marketing says the company is working hard with government to increase access to healthcare for Saskatchewan residents. (Lumerica Health/Twitter)

By Trevor Redden

Modern Healthcare

Saskatchewan company connecting residents with healthcare providers

May 29, 2020 | 1:35 PM

A way to access licensed doctors and nurses from the comfort of your home? There’s an app for that.

All Saskatchewan residents with a valid healthcard are now able to connect with healthcare providers within minutes, for free, all with the push of a button.

Tyson Liske, VP of marketing with Lumeca explained the simple process.

“What happens is someone [opens the app], signs up for a profile, then they text whatever the chief complaint happens to be. They’re then received by a care coordinator and connected with a physician,” Liske said.

Lumeca operates in the same way as most medical clinics, with doctors paid for their services by the company via the Medical Services Branch. Liske said the service is geared to residents who may not have a family general practitioner or are unable to physically go to a facility. He framed it as “a virtual walk-in clinic,” where you would go for things like COVID-19 screening, general health consultations, specialist referrals and prescription re-fills.

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The intention is to increase access to all Saskatchewan residents, not specifically urban or rural clients, but Liske noted many in rural or remote locations have limited access to healthcare, which is something the service can address.

“This gives them the opportunity from the safety of their home, or wherever they happen to be, to be connected with a physician that is licensed in Saskatchewan,” Liske said.

Even for those who already have a family physician with regular access, Lumeca is working with the government to complement and improve the existing system.

“Our desire is to empower people to take healthcare into their own hands,” Liske said.

Lumeca has recently undertaken a collaborative partnership with SaskTel and Cowessess First Nation [east of Regina] to help increase the healthcare in the area.

“We increased the WiFi support at their band office and at the community mall as well, so people almost have a drive-in connection that they’re able to utilize for health care services, education, etc.,” Liske said. “And so that’s something where we’ll continue to look at the needs that exist in our province, and we’ll continue to grow and expand and align ourselves well with provincial entities to deliver that healthcare.”

Founded in 2016, Liske said the company has grown from approximately 100 calls each week to around 1000, and has been able to scale the company appropriately to provide proper service.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden