In essence, we are a homegrown Canadian success story that met a daunting task during the pandemic, bringing critical health care services to an increasingly virtual world. Meeting this need for increased domestic testing capacity required a company that was forward thinking, flexible and patient-focused.
In a matter of months, we were able to hire hundreds of experienced health care professionals, meet the needs of Canadians and collaborate with Canada's leading laboratories. This is a service Canada needed. Canada needed a novel solution to collect specimens at home with the oversight of a telehealth employee through our proprietary privacy compliant telehealth and results reporting software.
Despite the logistical challenges and early hiccups, we're proud to say that our at-home collection kits met demand and, most importantly, minimized exposure to the virus.
It is about a 10-minute process, and the results are usually returned to patients within 24 hours of reaching one of our partner labs. Courier times may vary by location. With our partner, Purolator, and other third party logistics providers, we can reach 100% of Canada. Additionally, we are proud to work with Uber to ship kits in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.
Our instructional manual is available in 15 languages, including three indigenous languages.
In February 2021, Canada introduced new border measures to help prevent further introduction and transmission of COVID-19, including new variants. It needed help with PHAC-directed testing of international travellers, and we applied.
PHAC required an operation with supervised testing and self-collection, kit transportation, electronic results reporting, and laboratory partnerships supported by the latest technological operations. Prior to the federal program, Switch Health was providing testing services via our clinics and mobile units with other levels of government, public health units, major companies, individuals and families.