Green Shield Canada is teaming up with virtual health-care provider Maple to offer telemedicine to its plan members. The partnership aims to reduce employee absences and boost both productivity and well-being, according to a press release. Read: Just 9% of employers offer virtual health care: survey “Canadians face some of the longest wait times when compared to […]
The Saskatchewan government is amending its provincial employment act to add eight additional weeks of parental leave. The additional weeks of leave will be available to employees entitled to the province’s new shared parental employment insurance benefit. In a press release, the government said the extra weeks will give employees job protection while they access the […]
iA Financial Group is launching a pilot project to help benefits plan members with medication adherence. The Quebec City-based insurer will offer access to mobile app MedHelper to a few thousand plan members who are taking three or more medications on a daily basis. The plan members can import the list of drugs they take into the […]
Shoppers Drug Mart is partnering with SilverCloud Health Ltd. to make the digital mental-health solutions company’s online cognitive behavioural therapy program available to Canadian plan sponsors. SilverCloud’s digital CBT offering includes behavioural-health coaching support for depression and anxiety from trained social workers, as well as self-help programs on stress management and resiliency. “As the exclusive Canadian partner […]
Express Scripts Canada is launching a medication non-adherence, early-detection program in 2020 to identify plan members who are most likely to cease taking their prescription medications. The program will use proprietary predictive modelling to analyze prescription drug claims and determine who is at risk for potential non-adherence in the future, according to a press release. “Encouraging adherence […]
Both absenteeism and presenteeism affect employers’ bottom lines and employee morale, but does one have more impact on the workplace? Julie Holden, principal at Holden & Associates Ltd. In many ways, employee absence is a major disruption to the workplace and it has become much more complex over the years. On one hand, there’s the […]
Medication-related issues are negatively affecting employees’ health, causing them to take extended leaves from their jobs and leading to high benefits and disability costs for employers, according to a new white paper by HumanisRx. These issues include incompatible or duplicate drugs, higher than recommended doses, suboptimal therapy and failure to take medications as prescribed. “Our research finds […]
Flexible working hours, paid sick leave and vacation could have a positive correlation with retirement savings levels, according to a new study. The research, led by Patricia Ann Stoddard Dare, a professor at Cleveland State University, studied 994 male U.S. workers aged 47 to 55. It found employees who are offered these time-related benefits have dramatically higher retirement […]
Hub International Ltd. is expanding its Canadian employee benefits and retirement services with six key service areas. It also named its employee benefits leadership team for the country, including Robert Taylor of TRG Group Benefits, which was acquired by Hub in January; Hub chief innovation officer Faizal Mitha; Mary-Lou MacDonald, Hub’s national practice lead of health and […]
On Oct. 24, the 2019 Calgary Drug Trends Summit featured presentations to educate plan sponsors and advisors about specific disease states and their challenges, new drug treatment categories and key drug trends facing benefits plans. Here’s what you missed! New drug therapies for common conditions could impact private plan sustainability While medical advancements and drug […]