TORONTO — Canadian retail giant Loblaw is launching a new health and wellness app in Atlantic Canada that will eventually be available nationwide and include virtual physician care and a digital pharmacy.
Atlantic Canadians can log on to the PC Health app to get guidance from registered nurses and dietitians via live chat, as well as set and track personal health goals. Completing daily goals and activities can earn PC Optimum loyalty points for users.
“Our company’s purpose is to help Canadians live life well and the PC Health app is an innovative and powerful new tool that we really think brings this to life,” said Jeff Leger, president of the Loblaw-owned Shoppers Drug Mart.
“This app combines our company’s expertise – health and wellness advice, nutrition, and rewards – into a healthcare solution for Canadians that can live right at their fingertips.”
The app will include “care navigators” who will guide users to finding the support they need, including dentists, family doctors or an after-hours walk-in clinic, along with educational content and activities that are tied to a user’s goals.
The app is powered by technology developed by League, a Chicago-based health enterprise provider.
“The healthcare system is a complex web of information, providers, and insurers,” Michael Serbinis, the company’s founder and CEO, said in a press release. “The PC Health app will help address these issues and provide a new personalized ‘front door’ to healthcare.”
Another points-driven wellness app, Carrot Rewards, that received millions in government funding, shut down in June 2019. Users could choose from about half a dozen points providers and were rewarded for physical activity and engaging with government-approved health messages.
The federal government invested $5 million in the Toronto-based developer Carrot Insights, with B.C. pitching in $2 million and Ontario $1.5 million. Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories also supported the app.
In January, Toronto-based corporate wellness provider Optimity bought Carrot Rewards, which had a user base of more than 1.1 million people.
