Camosun College Student Society sponsored content
Do you need help with a health issue but have no family doctor? Or maybe you have a family doctor but the wait is too long? There’s a service available that can help you out.
Camosun College students get access to myvirtualdoctor, a virtual health care service that provides unlimited access 24 hours a day, seven days a week to licenced health experts such as doctors and nurse practitioners. The service is provided by the Camosun College Student Society (CCSS).
You can access myvirtualdoctor, which is powered by Telus Health, through its app—available for Android and iOS devices—or any browser. Eligible students will get an email with an activation link from help@vc.telushealth.com in the email you provided to the college (check your spam folder!); if you don’t get one, contact Telus Health at the above email to get set up (include your full legal name, that you are a Camosun student, and your email address that Camosun has on file).
It’s not just you who can access myvirtualdoctor: if you have eligible dependents, they can also access the services. Eligible dependents include a spouse and children.
“Myvirtualdoctor is invaluable for students without a family doctor,” says CCSS health & wellness officer Kyle Jones. “Even for students who already have a family doctor, this service has tremendous value. With myvirtualdoctor, students have access to medical care without making an appointment, day and night.”
The service include access to health care professionals in 30 different languages through chat, video call, or a phone call. Some of what is provided through myvirtualdoctor includes diagnosis, labs, imaging, and referrals; prescription delivery; specialist appointments; and safe and secure transfer of medical records to primary care physician.
As long as you’re a fee-paying member of the CCSS, you’ll be automatically enrolled in myvirtualdoctor and assessed the applicable fee—$35 a year, including eligible dependents—to your student account. Note that students in partnership programs, including Canadian Forces and high-school contracts, are not eligible.
If you have a family doctor, you can still use the app! However, if you want to opt out, you need to submit an online application, available through camosunstudent.org. The deadline to apply is 30 days from the official date of starting your program, and no exceptions are made if this deadline is missed. It’s the student’s responsibility to pay the plan fees if they miss the opt-out deadline.
If you opt-out you aren’t able to re-enroll in myvirtualdoctor until your enrolment anniversary. To keep the waiver active, you need to submit an opt-out application each year or when you see the fee included in your tuition.
For any questions about opting out, contact the CCSS Benefits Plan office at ccssplan@camosun.ca.
See camosunstudent.org and navigate to “health” or go to mystudentplan.ca/camosun/en/myvirtualdoctor to learn more about myvirtualdoctor.