Dialogue Health Technologies Inc. Canada’s premier health and wellness virtual healthcare platform and Sun Life Financial Inc. co-sponsored a report analyzing the economic impacts associated with Dialogue’s telemedicine adoption in Canada’s healthcare system. The Economic Impact of Telemedicine in Canada report, compiled by AppEco, evaluates the net benefits that Dialogue and Lumino Health Virtual Care offer to Canadian governments, employers and patients.
The report underlines the historical growth and continued adoption of telemedicine services in Canada.
The report reveals that increased adoption of telemedicine platforms Lumino Health Virtual Care, powered by Dialogue, directly translate into cost and strain reduction on Canada’s healthcare system. The study was conducted specifically on Dialogue and Lumino Health Virtual Care’s operating models, which allow employers to invest in the health and well-being of employees; consultations are never charged to provincial governments.
For example, on average, a visit to the emergency department in Canada costs the public healthcare system $202 while a visit to a doctor’s office or clinic costs $44 per consultation. Economic modelling suggests that telemedicine platforms, such as Dialogue and Lumino Health Virtual Care, save the Canadian healthcare system $52 on average for every consultation that would have otherwise taken place through standard public care.
As telemedicine adoption rates continue to rise, it is estimated that by 2025 platforms like Dialogue could save governments up to $1 billion per year.
The Economic Impact of Telemedicine in Canada report also addresses the economic benefits to Canadian employers that adopt telemedicine platforms like Dialogue and Lumino Health Virtual Care. Companies that offer Dialogue telemedicine as part of their group benefits see on average a 32% Return on Investment (ROI), which considers productivity lost to employee transportation, waiting times, net cost of service and other factors associated with in-person care.
Dialogue and Sun Life co-sponsored this study to evaluate the economic benefits of corporate paid virtual care for governments, employers and employees.
Methodology
Net benefits were derived based on direct reduction of public payments to physicians and emergency rooms operations, reduced absenteeism from work (transportation and wait times), the average cost of a teleconsultation for employers, and cost savings for the patients from avoided transportation.
Cost estimates were based on official data sources such as the Canadian Institute for Health Information and Statistics Canada, as well as economic literature, and government publications. Calculations were done on the basis of one teleconsultation that would have otherwise taken place at a clinic, at the emergency department, or that would not have occurred. These three possibilities were then averaged based on their respective likelihood as documented in the literature. As such, the estimates take into account the share of teleconsultations that represents new utilization, in addition to the share that constitutes substitutions.
Sun Life’s GenAI agent, Iris, earns 2025 innovation honour
Posted in Commentary with tags Sun Life on August 12, 2025 by itnerdFor the second consecutive year, Sun Life Financial Inc. has been named a 2025 CIO Awards Canada winner, this year for its internally developed GenAI-powered agent, Iris. The CIO Awards Canada celebrate Canadian organizations and the teams within them that are using IT in innovative ways to deliver business value.
Sun Life’s internal virtual agent, Iris, uses GenAI and Agentic AI to improve employee productivity and service desk efficiency. Iris is a secure service desk assistant that delivers instant, conversational responses to common inquiries such as password resets, software requests, and ticket status updates. Integrated into Sun Life’s existing systems, service desk workflows and knowledge base, Iris creates a seamless and secure self-service option for employees while freeing up service desk agents’ time to focus on more complex cases allowing employees to return to their priorities more quickly. The result: significant time savings, enhanced productivity, improved satisfaction, and a scalable model for future Client-facing AI innovations.
Productivity by the numbers
Digital leadership, backed by results
Iris is foundational for future Client-focused innovations. The insights gained from this internal implementation are enabling Sun Life to scale similar GenAI and Agentic AI tools across all contact centres globally, transforming how Sun Life interacts with Clients, allowing faster, more personalized digital experiences. In addition, the Agentic AI system functionalities continue to expand and will have the ability to handle increasingly complex employee needs as Sun Life continues to introduce new features.
Iris is just one step on Sun Life’s broader digital transformation journey. The enterprise recently also developed and launched the Advisor Notes Assistant tool, an innovative GenAI tool designed to enhance the Client experience and streamline advisor workflows. This cutting-edge technology helps advisors save 15-30 minutes of administrative effort per meeting, enabling them to spend more time deepening Client relationships and providing trusted tailored advice.
Sun Life is committed to digital leadership and to ensuring a focus on Client impact by continuing to adopt and experiment with innovative technology. Our culture is rooted in safety and security which extends to our adoption of emerging technologies. Through technology like GenAI, Sun Life empowers its people to enhance their skills to deliver on our Purpose of helping Clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives.
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