Employer-led screening can help Canada get ahead of the diabetes epidemic in this country, according to an occupational medical consultant. Dr. Alain Sotto, director of year-round care at Medcan, presented statistics at Benefits Canada’s Chronic Disease at Work conference showing that 3.5 million Canadians suffered from diabetes in 2016, an alarming 72 per cent increase […]
Pharmacies can help plan sponsors free up cash in their drug plans as the effectiveness of traditional methods of cost management fade. That was the message Mark Rolnick, vice-president of payor partnerships and plan sponsor innovation at Shoppers Drug Mart, delivered to the audience at Benefits Canada’s Chronic Disease at Work conference last month. Rolnick […]
Employees with multiple chronic conditions are a growing concern among Canada’s aging workforce, according to a workplace researcher. Peter Smith, a senior scientist at the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto, explained to the audience at Benefits Canada’s Chronic Disease at Work conference last month that while most of the studies in the area […]
Changing the way society thinks about obesity could improve efforts to combat weight problems and the health issues associated with them, according to an expert in the field. Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of Ottawa’s Bariatric Medical Institute, told delegates at Benefits Canada’s Chronic Disease at Work conference in May that no country in the […]
Stepped drug plans are coming between multiple sclerosis patients and promising new treatments, according to an expert in the field. Dr. Caroline Geenen, a consultant neurologist and chief of medicine at Markham Stouffville Hospital, told attendees at the Benefits Canada’s Chronic Disease at Work conference last month that several newly approved drugs have shown themselves […]
Heart disease is almost unique among chronic diseases for its preventability, says cardiologist Dr. Milan Gupta. Gupta, who works at Osler Cardiology Associates Inc., told attendees at Benefits Canada’s Chronic Disease at Work conference in May that while he spends most of his time treating patients who already have cardiovascular disease, an increasing amount of […]
Employers need to get proactive if they hope to prevent or slow the progress of chronic diseases in their workplaces. That was the message from Jennifer Elia, assistant vice-president of client experience, integrated health solutions, at Sun Life Financial during a session at Benefits Canada’s Chronic Disease at Work 2017 conference in May. The problem, […]
Julie Holden would like nothing more than to see doctor’s notes for short-term absences confined to the dust bin of history. And it’s not just the notoriously bad handwriting of medical professionals that Holden, a senior vice-president at SEB Benefits & HR Consulting Inc., has a problem with. “Even if you could make out what’s […]
What’s an employer to do when it faces benefits costs for employees on long-term disability for up to 10 years? Earlier this year, the B.C. Court of Appeal weighed in on the issue with a ruling that, while failing to interfere with an earlier finding that a municipality’s decision to fire three employees in that […]
Employers must acknowledge the role of family caregivers to get a true picture of the costs of cancer care, according to a University of Alberta professor. Janet Fast, a professor of department of human ecology at the University of Alberta, told the audience at Benefits Canada’s 2017 Employers Cancer Care Summit in February that the […]