iA Financial Group is introducing a virtual assistant to help personalize group benefits and pension plan member experience. The virtual assistant can be accessed using Google Assistant on a cell phone, tablet or via Google Home. It can calculate how much a group registered retirement savings plan member should contribute or estimate the amount saved when they retire, […]
Morneau Shepell Ltd. is offering its internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy program as an approved paramedical benefit through several insurance companies. The program, AbilitiCBT, delivers online CBT that combines therapist guidance with interactive exercises and activities. It focuses on changing negative thought patterns, emotional responses and behaviours to reduce absenteeism and improve engagement, shorten return-to-work timeframes and […]
With patient support programs providing a number of benefits for private plan stakeholders, ongoing digitization is likely to allow even greater connectivity and personalization for patients, physicians and payers in the near future. During a panel exploring these initiatives at Benefits Canada‘s Face to Face Drug Plan Management Forum in Toronto on Dec. 5, Sandra Anderson, vice-president of […]
The Mental Health Commission of Canada attributes nearly one-third of short- and long-term disability claims to mental-health illnesses. As many employers grapple with helping employees receive the treatment they need so they can return to work, the Health Benefit Trust of Alberta has piloted a program that simplifies the process. The problem The trust, a […]
As 2018 draws to a close, and the benefits and pension industry looks ahead, what’s next for the year’s biggest topics? Stephen Frank, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, is expecting a shift from Canadian and global regulators in the way they govern how customers are treated: an […]
Despite the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression’s goal to define biosignatures that make depression cases unique by looking at molecular profiling, pre-clinical work, data science and neuroimaging, Dr. Claudio Soares said the organization is about 10 years behind other specialties. “We’re just trying to play catch up. We’re trying to do what other specialists have been able […]
Cognitive behavioural therapy is one field of mental-health treatment that’s moving progressively towards being digitally delivered. This is because digital CBT provides greater access to treatment, specifically for those in remote areas, and also helps to control costs, said Jennifer Wild, a consultant clinical psychologist and associate professor at the University of Oxford in England. Speaking […]
Two-thirds of Canadians have access to an employer-sponsored health plan, compared to one-in-five Australians and one-in-10 Britons, according to one speaker at Benefits Canada’s 2018 Mental Health Summit Toronto on Nov. 12. Research also found, when looking at publicly funded therapy programs in Australia and England, the goal was to increase access and bridge the gap […]
Employers will rely more on technology to shape and analyze their future wellness offerings, according to a global workforce well-being survey by consultancy Buck. The survey, which polled more than 250 employers, found the majority of organizations are planning to offer workplace health competitions (62 per cent), stress management programs (60 per cent), workplace environment improvements (58 per cent), online courses and training for […]
Despite a growing interest in virtual health care, many employers still aren’t adopting the technology in their benefits plans, according to new research by Medisys Health Group Inc. Just nine per cent of employer respondents said they offer virtual health care, though more than two-thirds (67 per cent) of employee respondents said they’d use the benefit if it was available. Indeed, 71 per […]