Green Shield Canada is offering plan members who suffer from chronic pain free access to a mobile app that tracks their pain, analyzes it and shares the data with their health-care providers. The pilot project, in partnership with Toronto-based startup ManagingLife Inc., also gives participants bonus points and access to rewards through the insurer’s incentive-based health […]
While she has 20 years of experience in the industry, Sheila Phillips is aware of how difficult it is to know everything in the benefits field. With that in mind, Phillips, a senior account manager at the Great-West Life Assurance Co., kicked off the benefits and pensions fundamentals program held by the Toronto chapter of […]
More than ever, mental health is at the centre of our national conversation. From mayors to chief executive officers to well-known Canadians, mental health has never had so many different champions. And rightly so. Mental health exists where we do, extending from our homes, throughout our communities and into the workplace. It’s at the workplace where the […]
Employee health services company HumanaCare has acquired Toronto-based virtual health platform TranQool. In addition to delivering health care virtually, the acquisition will allow HumanaCare to expand its existing employee assistance programs, medical second opinion, disability support, caregiving and health-care navigation and chronic disease management services, according to its president, Jamie Marcellus. Read: 2018 Group Benefits Providers […]
Who wouldn’t want a coach to help with achieving health goals? According to the 2017 Sanofi Canada health-care survey, health coaching is a popular idea: 61 per cent of plan members expressed interest in coaching around personal health goals. But is health coaching a worthy investment for employers to include as a benefit for their […]
A new review by the Institute for Work and Health has found that while generic cognitive behavioural therapy can help employees with symptoms of depression remain at work, it doesn’t have an effect on helping them return to their jobs. The review found, however, that work-focused cognitive behavioural therapy can help depressed employees both stay […]
Less than half of working Canadians have disability coverage provided through their workplace benefits, according to a survey by RBC Insurance Services Inc. The survey, which queried 1,505 working Canadians, found the percentage of people who had disability coverage through their work has dropped to 48 per cent from 57 per cent in 2015. Read: 48% […]
How can employers better address conditions, such as migraines, that are among the factors contributing to illness and absenteeism? With rates of illness and disability on the rise, absenteeism is a significant and growing concern for Canadian employers. Statistics Canada figures for 2017 show rates of absenteeism have been on an upswing in recent years, […]
Forty-two per cent of Canadian employers are anticipating an increase in medical leaves related to mental-health concerns and illnesses, according to a report by the Conference Board of Canada. The report, which surveyed 205 Canadian employers, found respondents are also expecting an increase in leaves related to cancer (15 per cent), musculoskeletal issues and injuries (13 per cent), […]
From brain fog to fatigue, cancer patients face a range of challenges when it comes to staying at or going back to work. And with a significant number of cancer diagnoses happening to people during their prime working years, employers do have a role in supporting employees in dealing with their conditions, a speaker at Benefits Canada‘s […]