Telemedicine provider Felix hopes to fill mental health care gaps

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Two years into COVID-19, cases of depression have risen globally by 28% and anxiety increased by 26%, according to a recent study.

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But gettting quick access mental health care can be a problem even at the best of times, with 5 million Canadians without a family physician, according to private digital care provider Felix.

We caught up with Dr. Kelly Anderson, the medical director of Felix, to talk about how people can get help.

Q. Are you surprised by the increase in anxiety and depression?

A. I’m not surprised. I feel as though social isolation has been a trigger for increasing levels of anxiety and depression in Canadians and perhaps there’s been less easy access to physicians during the pandemic because they’ve had increased COVID critical loads. And what we’ve seen is maybe health issues that we’ve seen simmering in the background pre-pandemic have only become exacerbated during the pandemic. And that might be the case for anxiety and depression.

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Q. So how does Felix work?

A. We’re providing Canadians with a place they can go to be connected with a health-care practitioner that will not only assess their mental health struggles but will also follow them in a longitudinal way and provide treatment and if medications are part of that treatment, make sure we deliver those medications discreetly, confidentially, reliably to their home in an ongoing way so they don’t miss those medications. (Ontario residents can sign up for a one-time $40 fee to connect to a health care practitioner by phone, video for an assessment via felixforyou.ca).

Q. Do you offer actual counselling?

A. So currently Felix is not offering counselling. It’s something that we’re looking to integrate into the future because mental health care, a lot of people do require medication, but counselling is equally as important.

Q. How do prevent abuse of the system by addicts seeking prescriptions?

A. It’s incredibly important for telemedicine companies to not prescribe controlled substances online, like addictive substances like narcotics. So Felix does not prescribe controlled substances — like opioids or benzodiazepines like Xanax — those are medications that can be abused or diverted. And, to be honest, in most mental health practices, those are not medications that we  often use. They’re not guideline-based medications typically. They may be used by psychiatry at times for complex cases.”