Mental health is the third largest health spend in terms of benefits plan management, according to Derek Weir, manager of health benefit solutions at Medavie Blue Cross. “Fifty-three per cent of Canadians consider anxiety and depression ‘epidemic’ in Canada and 85 per cent say mental-health services are among the most underfunded in health care,” he said […]
When Mark Henick, principal and chief executive officer at Strategic Mental Health Solutions, was younger, he felt he had no choice but to take his own life. In the small Cape Breton community where he grew up, few support systems were available for a young person suffering from what turned out to be severe and […]
A migraine sufferer herself, Dr. Rose Giammarco, founder and director of Hamilton Headache Clinic, told the audience at Benefits Canada‘s 2019 Mental Health Summit that migraine can be very disabling and cause tremendous burden of disease. “Clinically, these patients come in with severe headaches, throbbing pain that can last hours or days, sometimes weeks at […]
Since good nutrition contributes to better mental health, what people eat has a direct relationship to their mood and how they function, said Charmaine Alexander, senior advisor of disability management at Desjardins Insurance. “Let’s compare our brains to a car engine,” she said during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2019 Mental Health Summit on Nov. […]
While medical advancements and drug therapy innovations have been life-changing for patients and plan members, they also come with increasing costs, said Victoria Shaw, drug benefits manager at Alberta Blue Cross, speaking at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Calgary Drug Trends Summit on Oct. 24. Between 2011 to 2017, the number of high-cost drugs doubled. From 2016 to 2017, in […]
With more than 1,400 mental-health apps available for download, and more entering the marketplace every day, are these tools an effective way for employers to support employee well-being? The journal Nature Digital Medicine, which estimated the number above, also found only 2.6 per cent of apps that are clinically relevant specifically for depression provided evidence […]
Montreal-based virtual health-care services platform Dialogue Technologies Inc. is launching the second phase of its stress management and well-being program. Available to Canadian employers, the program aims to ensure plan members have access to doctors, nurses, medical specialists, psychologists, psychotherapists and social workers. These specialists “[work] together as a team to offer a personalized treatment plan and […]
While employers want workplace cultures that make employees feel good and included, gauging and quantifying that experience can be difficult. Toronto-based company Receptiviti Inc. is aiming to help employers create and maintain “people-first” workplaces that make culture a priority, recognizing it’s a foundational part of organizational health and business performance. To do this, it’s analyzing language across […]
SSQ Life Insurance Co. Inc. is adding pharmacogenetic testing to its group insurance offering. Pharmacogenetic testing helps determine how a person’s DNA reacts to prescription drugs, which makes it easier for doctors to choose the most effective medications for their patients. SSQ said it expects the offering will make it easier for plan members to access […]
The majority of Canadians said they’d either be reluctant to admit (48 per cent) or wouldn’t admit (27 per cent) to a boss or co-worker that they’re suffering from a mental illness, according to a new survey by RBC Insurance. Furthermore, the proportion (27 per cent) who said they wouldn’t admit they’re suffering from a […]