Healthcare technology innovator Vector Health Labs has acquired fellow Canadian company Tulip Health to gain access to its telemedicine platform.

Tulip will join Vector’s existing suite of healthcare services, which includes diagnostic Covid-19 testing, antibodies serology testing and hormone testing to address the next stages of the pandemic.

As part of Vector Health Labs’ mission to grant greater autonomy over personal healthcare, this acquisition will expand the platform’s ability to offer OHIP-covered virtual consultations confidentially, and with quick turnaround, so more patients can speak to doctors without having to leave home. OHIP is the Ontario Health Insurance Plan scheme.

Tulip Health offers free medical services for all Ontario residents with a valid OHIP card, including specialist referrals, prescription renewals and Covid-19 assessment. Patients can register online for an appointment with one of more than 250 doctors, available seven days a week, with no mobile app and no waiting room visits required. All Tulip Health’s doctors are Ontario MDs with backgrounds ranging from family medicine to long-term care, and are trained to provide mental health consultations.

“We are excited to welcome Tulip Health to the Vector family, where we believe that our biggest healthcare crisis is the pandemic of mental health, a pandemic that has been further exposed by Covid-19,” said Rob Godfrey, CEO of Vector Health Labs. “Since primary care physicians are often the first point of contact for those experiencing mental health issues, adding Tulip’s OHIP-covered telehealth platform to our service offerings will be an important step towards our goal of addressing this wide-ranging crisis.”

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a 240 per cent increase in virtual healthcare in Canada, including a 114 per cent increase in telemental health services. Overall, the percentage of medical appointments conducted online has risen from 20 per cent before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic to 60 per cent throughout. With a healthcare system that has been stretched to its limits during a public health crisis, expanding access to telemedicine can help reduce wait times in urgent care clinics, allow more frequent and convenient meetings with healthcare providers, and reduce patient stress.

“We share Vector Health’s vision of expanding the Tulip platform to not only other areas of medicine such as mental health, but also to other geographic regions, including other provinces and the USA,” said Jeff Gilmore, CEO of Tulip Health. “Together we can provide more integration to customers looking to take a more proactive and preventative approach to their personal healthcare.”

The Tulip Health platform is open from 9am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and 9am until 6pm Saturday and Sunday.

Vector Health Labs is a technology and innovation organisation focused on providing service to clients through laboratory services and technology. Founded in January 2021, Vector Health is offering services at 22 locations across Toronto, extending to the Ottawa region for retail and corporate clients.

Tulip Health is a virtual medicine platform offering virtual appointments to all Ontario residents, both urban and rural. Founded in 2020 to help Ontario citizens when in-person medical care was restricted by Covid-19, Tulip has now serviced over 70,000 patients across the province, ensuring access to family practitioners, paediatricians and mental health specialists.