Western Standard - Exclusive investigation raises concerns about fraud in Canadian dial-a-doctor services

00:00:00.000 As Canadians struggle to access primary health care, many are turning to online

00:00:08.520 dial-a-doctors to fill the gap. But this quick and convenient alternative may

00:00:12.060 spark potential abuse. In an investigation conducted by the Western

00:00:16.440 Standard over the past couple of weeks, you were able to go online, look up

00:00:20.500 online Doctors Alberta and book an appointment within hours.

00:00:24.000 hello hi yes that's him I'm speaking oh yeah I've been waiting for your call okay

00:00:36.660 how can I help I just I've been really stressed out recently like I've been

00:00:40.980 having trouble sleeping and I just need like like a couple weeks off from work

00:00:45.540 like two three weeks like I'm just really yeah so you know so in terms of

00:00:51.180 sick note i can write you for two weeks okay um and yeah it's not covered by our better health

00:00:59.260 or the government so it's seen as a private payment so there will be in charge for that from

00:01:04.340 you okay how much how much would it be roughly it's 55 55 okay yeah that's fine

00:01:10.300 as you from that last clip i was able to get two weeks off from work just by saying i was stressed

00:01:16.860 had a bit of headache and wasn't sleeping all that great i booked another appointment with

00:01:21.060 another online health clinic here's how it went I've been stressed out from work

00:01:26.040 and yeah work-related and as a result I've been I've not really been sleeping

00:01:32.460 like well at all like I've tried melatonin yes that's it yeah I've been

00:01:38.840 trying it just it's not it doesn't work

00:01:43.180 sleeping pills but are you interested in having those okay so there's a fee for

00:01:49.980 the doctor's note okay of course yeah if it's one week we can give it for $35

00:01:56.700 sure if it's two weeks it's 60 if it's one month it's 90 I think two weeks

00:02:02.580 would probably be optimal so it's $60 for two weeks and then I will send your

00:02:09.960 prescription to the pharmacy as well okay that'll be very good as you heard

00:02:15.000 in that last clip I was offered I did not ask I was given Zopoclon a highly

00:02:18.960 addictive sleeping pill from one of these online physicians.

00:02:22.680 I discussed the potential harm this might have with the University of Calgary's Dr.

00:02:26.380 Monty Ghosh, who specializes in addiction.

00:02:28.680 So like the way this kind of works is that if, for example, they were prescribing

00:02:31.480 azopliclone, which can be potentially addictive, that could be problematic.

00:02:36.180 If they're prescribing opioids or benzodiazepines, that could be potentially

00:02:39.820 problematic as well.

00:02:41.040 Now, the deal is also is that I'm sure there's regulations around this, or

00:02:44.160 there's maybe not regulations, but standards with them in terms of internal things that they're

00:02:49.760 willing to do and not willing to do. I think it also comes down to physician comfort. Some

00:02:53.800 physicians will be more comfortable prescribing things over the phone than others. But there

00:02:57.960 could be a potential case or situation in which this could be misused as a system. So if someone

00:03:04.900 is substance seeking, if they're seeking for, if they're looking for benzodiazepines or opioids,

00:03:08.980 prescription opioids, prescription pain meds. They could maybe potentially use these services

00:03:14.900 to access those types of meds without having a proper evaluation, proper history and physical

00:03:20.220 examination, and without having proper access to medical records, which is crucial to determining

00:03:25.280 what sometimes a person needs or may not need. Speaking to the billing, going through the

00:03:31.500 process, it seems like a lot of these places are stressing e-transfer rather than any sort of

00:03:36.760 formal credit card and do you think that there's again speaking on the sort of accessibility of it

00:03:41.880 it's it's good for people who need those sort of medications who need them fast and that's

00:03:45.800 obviously something that is a necessary thing but does it not open the door for these kind of like

00:03:51.080 e-transfers uh it's not as traceable like it is but it's it's the virtual equivalent of cash in

00:03:57.200 hand is there not a risk for kind of paying for more like if oh like even when i was doing it

00:04:01.940 like they offered as for a sick note. And they said for two weeks, it's $60 for three weeks,

00:04:06.860 it's 100. So it's kind of like pay, pay to get. So do you think that there's kind of a risk for

00:04:11.400 that as well? Again, like just speaking to the general pay to play sort of way it's working?

00:04:16.760 That is definitely a concern. I mean, I would say if someone needs a sick note to get it from work,

00:04:20.920 they should probably have a proper assessment done. And typically a physician could actually

00:04:25.100 see them do a physical exam on them, or another clinician such as a nurse practitioner. So this

00:04:29.980 is very concerning uh the pay to play so that means you basically pay for your own sick note if

00:04:34.380 you need to take a leave or if you want to go on vacation uh for some people 20 bucks to pay for

00:04:38.940 one of those notes is not that big of a deal uh so that is highly concerning i think that's misuse

00:04:43.180 of the system and misuse of of our resources and that definitely needs to be flagged at the

00:04:48.620 culmination of this investigation i hope you've realized just how much of a gray area this

00:04:52.860 burgeoning industry is there is a place for it of course canadians are struggling to access

00:04:57.820 healthcare these days and need alternatives. But how little regulation and the ease at which I was

00:05:04.120 able to obtain sick notes and prescription drugs is really concerning. I've reached out to the

00:05:09.340 Alberta Medical Association and I followed up and I've heard nothing back. I hope that this

00:05:14.200 investigation prompts change from these kind of authorities. For Western Standard, I'm Jackson Loy.

Western Standard - April 07, 2026

Exclusive investigation raises concerns about fraud in Canadian dial-a-doctor services

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