For over 27 years, Fonemed has been a virtual health pioneer working with public and private organizations to meet the needs of over 40 million individuals worldwide. Fonemed employs hundreds of people in Newfoundland and Labrador alone, with similar numbers throughout North America. Their proprietary technology platform is used by some of the largest hospital systems in North America.

Fonemed has brought their hands-on knowledge of our healthcare system into developing countries and communities which otherwise would not have access to healthcare, including Manila, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and, most recently, Singapore.

Demand for healthcare programs and services continue to rise, even surpassing pandemic needs, especially for mental health services—people are struggling to find care. Our aging population, along with an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases are adding pressure on an already overburdened health system.

Fonemed’s human-centered technology incorporates best practice clinical protocols with bio-metric monitoring devices, supported by nationwide, licensed healthcare practitioners ready to offer care when and where it is needed.

 

 

“It’s time to be innovative and to rethink how healthcare is being delivered in the communities where we live and work,” says President and CEO Charlene Brophy. “In the beginning, the internet changed the way we live; now it has changed the way we access healthcare.”

Brophy emphasizes, “Fonemed’s virtual health technology and programs are proven to provide enormous benefits for both patients and our healthcare systems. Our convenient, ‘access-to-care-from-anywhere’ model reduces the burden of travel, the risk of exposure to communicable diseases, and alleviates pressure on the healthcare system by diverting less urgent patients away from emergency departments and redirecting them to a more appropriate level of care.”

She adds: “According to recent Fonemed data, less than one per cent of patients who receive care from Fonemed’s Virtual Nurse Practitioners need to seek additional in-person care. Most of these patients have indicated they do not have a family doctor.”

What’s more, she notes, “of the 80 per cent of individuals who initially planned to seek care at an Emergency Department (ED), only 11 per cent were referred to the ED following assessment by a Registered Nurse.”

Fonemed has strategically designed their platform and services to meet the evolving needs in our communities. In addition to nurse advice and triage services, Fonemed offers mental health and addictions support, remote patient biometric monitoring, disease management, virtual urgent and emergent care services as well as a digital front door/online portal for patients. “We are here to help meet the population health needs in a challenging environment,” Brophy says. “We are advocating on behalf of the people we serve to offer equitable access to healthcare services.”

The company’s software was developed based on a wealth of experience from Fonemed’s own clinicians and technical experts, creating a comprehensive platform offering an exceptional user experience. The platform, designed and built in Newfoundland and Labrador by Fonemed’s team of software developers, not only support Fonemed’s virtual care services, but is also utilized by its many software-related clients to power their own virtual care services around the globe, most recently with a large hospital group in Singapore.

Says Brophy: “We live here. We work here, and we scale from here. We want our children and grandchildren to live and thrive here. We care about our people; we want to play a part in improving health outcomes for all residents of our provinces, country, and across the globe.”