With virtual health-care visits increasing as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, telemedicine should become a permanent part of Ontario’s health-care system, according to a new report by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. It recommended the Ontario government develop a comprehensive framework for virtual care in Ontario, including support for employers’ continued investment in […]
The coronavirus pandemic has significantly increased plan members’ willingness to seek help for their mental-health concerns and to access video or telephone counselling, said Julie Gaudry, senior director of group insurance for RBC Insurance, during Benefits Canada’s 2020 Mental Health Summit on Nov. 12. An RBC Insurance survey of plan members found two-thirds (67 per cent) […]
Employee benefits and total rewards planning have always been a critical element of business planning, but never more so than during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Mercer Canada conducted a recent client poll which showed that unlike previous years, most Canadian organizations still had not set their salary adjustment budget for 2021 as of early November. While […]
The Green Shield Benefits Association, part of the Green Shield Canada group of companies, is acquiring Benecaid Health Benefit Solutions Inc. The company’s current leadership team will continue to operate the business under the Benecaid brand, according to a press release. “Benecaid’s track record of service excellence, growth and innovation, including its Honeybee digital platform, […]
Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy is reaching pockets of the population that had never previously accessed mental-health care and achieving clinical improvement for users, said Adam Kelly, chief commercial officer at MindBeacon Group, during Benefits Canada’s 2020 Mental Health Summit. iCBT, which is delivered asynchronously either through guided text conversations with a trained psychologist or social […]
Long before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted everyone’s lives, a large portion of the working population had mental-health issues that affected their jobs and performance. But the pandemic has drastically amplified mental-health issues such as anxiety, insomnia and depression, in turn spiking the demand for reliable resources, said Karen Grant, vice-president of strategy and operations at Teladoc Health, […]
Two-thirds of employees making short- or long-term disability claims cited their workplace or work-related issues as a cause, but despite this only one in three Canadian employers has a mental-health strategy in place. “Businesses may have several piecemeal strategies but not an overall strategy and the result is that their efforts either amount to nothing […]
With the coronavirus pandemic expected to double the demand for mental-health service, digital technology is opening the door to a new normal, with shorter wait times for services, more personalized treatment options and improved integration between public and private providers. Over the past year, there’s been a rapid acceleration of the need for digital programming to fill gaps […]
The majority (70 per cent) of Canadians said they believe virtual health care represents the future, according to a new survey conducted by Environics Research and sponsored by Dialogue. The survey also found the demand for more convenient virtual-care services is on the rise, with nearly half (46 per cent) of respondents saying the coronavirus pandemic has made […]
Green Shield Canada is partnering with Maple to provide its group benefits plan members with free access to the virtual-care provider’s platform for the winter months ahead. “As a leading advocate for evidence-based digital health technologies and the impact they can have on the health-care experience for Canadians, it was an easy decision for GSC to […]