The Health Association of Nova Scotia, which has a number of different employers in its benefits plan, cites rheumatoid arthritis medications as its top drugs in terms of cost. “Chronic disease, in terms of inflammatory disease — not just for rheumatoid, but for Crohn’s disease as well — those are what we’re seeing from a […]
When an employee with diabetes is working in a safety-sensitive role experiences severely low blood sugar, what are the ramifications for employers? This question was addressed at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Chronic Disease at Work conference in Toronto in June. “For you, as an employer, what if this was your employee on their way to meet […]
Workplace programs to promote healthy food choices could improve employees’ eating habits, according to a study by researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. A two-year study at the hospital examined the purchasing habits of almost 5,700 employees before and after researchers put in place a “traffic light labeling and choice architecture program.” […]
On June 5, Benefits Canada‘s 2019 Chronic Disease at Work conference featured educational presentations around trends and treatments in an effort to help plan sponsors and advisors make the best decisions for their plans and members. Here’s what you missed! Behavioural change a key component to managing chronic disease More than 50 per cent of […]
For people with diabetes, hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia can impact health and, as a result, workplace performance. However real-time continuous glucose monitoring can enable people to prevent or treat these highs and lows. “Out of the Canadian population, only about 10 per cent have diabetes, so it’s a small population in general,” said Suzanne Lepage, a […]
While the definition of type 1 diabetes – the body doesn’t produce insulin – sounds clear and concise, this disease is anything but, said Lisa Geelen, a type 1 diabetes caregiver, during Benefits Canada’s 2019 Chronic Disease at Work conference in Toronto on June 5. Diabetes is more of an art than a science to manage, […]
More than half (54 per cent) of Canadian workers reported having at least one chronic disease or condition, according to the 2019 Sanofi Canada health-care survey. The five most common issues were mental illness, hypertension, high cholesterol, arthritis and diabetes. Nearly half (42 per cent) of respondents also reported having chronic pain, describing it as […]
Specialty medications and high-cost drugs for common conditions are driving up private plan drug spending, according to Express Scripts Canada’s annual drug trends report. The report found the rapid increases in drug spending for private plans over the last 20 years have started to slow. The average annual drug spending per plan member was up just 0.9 per cent […]
LifeScan Inc. is launching a mobile app for benefits plan members living with diabetes. Diabetes, which is a growing health concern for Canadians, ranks second in drug spending by employer-sponsored health plans. The app, which is licensed by Health Canada, works by transmitting blood glucose data from a compatible monitoring system to the app using Bluetooth. […]
Something interesting happened this month as we examined the 2018 experience of two different plan sponsors in two separate geographies with different demographics. The only similarity between the plans is they both have 80,000 or more individual claimants on their drug plan annually. At the same time last year, we completed a series of predictive analytics on […]