American-owned company expected to take over virtual care contract
The New Brunswick-based virtual care service, eVisitNB, will no longer provide on-demand, non-emergency medical services to New Brunswickers as of April 1.
The River Valley Sun has confirmed that eVisitNB’s contract, operated on the Maple platform, will not be renewed.
“After a comprehensive RFP process, a vendor was selected whose proposal best met the needs of New Brunswickers,” said Sarah Bustard, Director of Communications with New Brunswick’s Department of Health.
In an emailed statement, Bustard said that the decision was made after a “comprehensive review of virtual care services was conducted to ensure we could continue to provide virtual care to New Brunswickers in both official languages.”
While Bustard would not confirm which company would be providing virtual care in the province after April 1, she did say the “vendor selected has over 28 years of experience serving New Brunswickers in both official languages 24/7” and that more details would be made public once the “new agreement is signed and operationalized.”
The River Valley Sun has learned that the new contract for virtual care services in New Brunswick will be awarded to the Assistance Services Group (ASG), based in London, Ontario, which currently has the contract to operate 811 Tele-Care in New Brunswick. The company is owned by the Foundever Group, which has a corporate office in Miami, Florida, and global headquarters in Luxembourg, Western Europe.
When the River Valley Sun contacted Foundever Group to inquire about the new contract, their public relations firm, Relativity Ventures, based in New York and California, responded on their behalf.
“We are not in a position to provide further comment beyond what has been provided by the province,” wrote spokesperson Sydni Resnick.
In 2024, the province’s language commissioner issued two investigative reports related to complaints about eVisitNB.
Shirley MacLean said the platform’s lack of French-language services could have “dangerous consequences” for those seeking medical or mental health care who are denied service in their preferred language.
The reports said the deficiencies stemmed from clients complaining about the quality of the French-language service and about their inability to choose a French-language option on the app, an issue Maple said was due to a ‘glitch’ it had since fixed.
eVisitNB, founded by Woodstock ER physician Dr. Hanif Chatur and Stanley-area family doctor Jonathan Clayton, began operating at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was initially created to help patients access medical care when New Brunswickers were urged to avoid hospital emergency rooms across the province.
The provincial government later funded the service to help New Brunswickers without a family doctor, as well as those unable to access their doctor right away. The service operates from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily and is for non-emergency medical concerns.
In a written statement, Dr. Chatur did not address the language issues raised by the province, but said he is disappointed in the government’s decision.
“Over the past four years, eVisitNB has completed over one million consults to over 300,000 (patients) with our team of over 165 Nurse Practitioners from New Brunswick and across Canada,” he said in an email. “We will let the government explain their decision, but we are very disappointed that it decided to pass over the only New Brunswick company involved in the selection process.”
Dr. Chatur added that he wants New Brunswickers to know that his company will remain available to patients until April 1.
“We will continue to provide high-quality healthcare to New Brunswickers until the end of March, and will facilitate a proper transition to the new service provider,” he said.
When contacted by the River Valley Sun, the Commissioner of Official Languages for New Brunswick declined to comment on the virtual care changes. A spokesperson for the New Brunswick Medical Society also said it would not comment on the province’s decision not to renew eVisitNB’s contract.
