Mental health becomes top reason Canadians use virtual care

Your Doctors Online says anxiety and depression overtook prescription refills and lab reviews as the leading reasons Canadians sought virtual care from Jan. 1 to June 9, 2026. The shift was driven largely by women ages 18 to 34, underscoring pressure on the country’s mental health system and the growing role of telehealth as a stopgap.

Why it matters: - Mental health is now the biggest driver of virtual care demand on Your Doctors Online’s platform. - The shift suggests more Canadians are using telehealth for urgent support when in-person care is delayed. - The data highlights a sharp concentration of need among younger adults, especially women. - The pattern points to a broader strain on Canada’s mental health system, where wait times can stretch from months to more than a year in some provinces.

What happened: - Your Doctors Online released an analysis of patient consultation data covering Jan. 1 through June 9, 2026. - The dataset included more than 32,000 active cases. - Anxiety and depression combined accounted for more than 5,600 consultations in just over five months. - That total exceeded prescription refills, lab result reviews and every other category of patient contact combined.

The details: - Anxiety generated 3,350 consultations, with 77% involving female patients. - Depression accounted for 2,274 consultations, with women making up 82% of that total. - Patients ages 18 to 34 drove most of the mental health demand. - The 18–34 group accounted for 2,455 anxiety consultations and 1,822 depression consultations. - Adults ages 35 to 54 were the second-largest group, with 747 anxiety consultations and 372 depression consultations. - People 55 and older made up a comparatively small share of mental health contacts. - Lab results review and requisitions produced 1,818 consultations, with 61% from female patients. - Prescription refills generated 1,292 consultations, with a 54% female and 46% male split, the most balanced across all categories. - Patient needs assistance accounted for 410 consultations. - Nutrition consultation accounted for 293 consultations, with 73% from female patients and a focus on weight management and metabolic health. - Raihan Masroor, founder of Your Doctors Online, said the data shows many young women are coming to the platform for anxiety and depression because they have nowhere else to turn that does not involve a months-long wait. - The company said all data was anonymized and aggregated, with no patient names, contact details or other personally identifiable information collected, stored or referenced. - The company said its data practices comply with PIPEDA and applicable provincial health information laws.

Between the lines: - The age and gender split suggests telehealth is filling gaps for people facing both access barriers and rising mental health stress. - The company’s note on gender data indicates the male share likely understates true need, because men are less likely to seek mental health help. - The consultation mix shows virtual care is serving both clinical needs and administrative needs, but mental health now dominates the platform’s demand profile.

What's next: - Continued pressure on public mental health services could keep virtual care as an important first point of contact for patients. - The concentration of demand among younger adults may push more platforms and providers to expand same-day mental health support. - The company is likely to use the findings to underscore telehealth’s role as a safety net while broader system delays persist.

The bottom line: - On this platform, mental health has moved from one of many use cases to the clear center of demand.