With hospital closures, worsening staffing shortages, and more than 800,000 people on the waiting list for a family doctor in Quebec alone, access to proper healthcare is becoming more and more difficult.
One local mobile application is hoping to ease some of that tension by bridging the gap between patients and healthcare practitioners.
Since it was launched in early 2022, Avvy‘s goal has been to deliver an “easy, convenient, patient experience while changing the way healthcare is delivered.” And over the past year, it has connected thousands of people across Montreal with medical professionals.
- You might also like:
- Quebec needs at least 10,000 new doctors to solve shortage
- PM announces double GST tax credit, new dental plan, housing top-up program
- Health Canada approves Moderna vaccine for Omicron variant
People have been able to receive a variety of tests from the comfort of their homes. From EKGs to COVID-19 tests to blood tests, most of Avvy’s services are affordable and covered by basic insurance.
View this post on Instagram
We spoke with Registered Nurse and Avvy CEO Oren Sebag to discuss how the app works and what plans his team has for expanding the platform to the rest of the country.
“We provide on-demand healthcare services through that application the same way you would order food from your favourite restaurant,” explains Sebag. “The application has the same type of platform that allows you to dispatch a healthcare professional at your convenience. So whether it’s at work, whether it’s at home, whether it’s at a hotel, we’re able to be there when you want and where you want.”
The idea for the service came about when Sebag, a nurse of 20 years and counting, began doing at-home care at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I realized that there was a need for it — a need for on-demand, at-home services. Through a couple of different physicians, who already had the platform set up, we decided to join forces and I signed on as CEO.”
Sebag says that Avvy is the first app of its kind in Canada, and “probably in the world.” He says that constructing the service from the ground up on a local level has been a key factor in its success. “We didn’t buy a platform, we actually built the platform from scratch.”
And so far the digital convenience of the service seems to be catching on. “In the same fashion that you rate your driver on an Uber, you rate your nurse and you can tip trainers,” explains the CEO. “We have a lot of nurses that work in hospital environments and on their day off, want to work for Avvy. Because the nurses have a different application. They’re able to set themselves on for a set number of hours and when calls come in, they have the choice to take it or refuse it.”
“We’ve seen the feedback is absolutely amazing,” says Sebag, who is “very excited to move into other high-density areas” across Canada in the near future.
You can visit Avvy’s website to learn more about their services.
Follow Channels and Categories