Canada Life is working with Dialogue Technologies Inc. to make virtual health care a standard benefit for its group benefits plans with up to 400 plan members.

When the change takes effect this summer, employees who are covered by the insurer’s group benefits plans will have access to Dialogue’s bilingual virtual health-care platform through a mobile app or web browser. They can access the services from anywhere in Canada, 24 hours a day and seven days week.

“We are always open to smart collaborations that help support the financial, physical and mental well-being of Canadians, and our relationship with Dialogue is a great example of this,” said Ryan Weiss, vice-president of product and experience for group customer at Canada Life, in a press release. “Together we’ve developed a streamlined, proprietary virtual health-care solution that will give more than one million Canadians easier access to high-quality health care.”

Read: Just 9% of employers offer virtual health care: survey

Through the platform, plan members will also be able to chat live with a registered nurse or see a physician via secure video consultation for various health and medical issues, whether to diagnose a wide variety of conditions, provide medical advice, write a prescription or make a referral to a specialist when it is medically indicated, noted the release.

“As demand for virtual health care continues to grow, working with Canada Life to integrate Dialogue as a standard benefit is an important step towards improving access to quality care for all Canadians,” said Cherif Habib, co-founder and chief executive officer of Dialogue.

Read: Virtual care among ‘dramatic change’ predicted for benefits plans in future