With the productivity costs of obesity on the rise, employers need to measure how the issue is affecting them, a speaker told the audience at Benefits Canada‘s 2018 Healthy Outcomes conference in Toronto. “Insurers are sitting on tons of data that can be used to make a calculation to start to get the baseline, so […]
With diabetes on the rise, how well employees manage the chronic disease should be a concern for employers, Diana Sherifali, an associate professor at McMaster University’s school of nursing, told Benefits Canada‘s 2018 Healthy Outcomes conference in May. Since diabetes often comes with other chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease, hypertension and high cholesterol, mitigating it […]
Motivational interviewing can be a powerful way for health coaches to improve patient outcomes, said Ann Stirling, senior director at CAREpath Inc., during her presentation at Benefits Canada‘s 2018 Healthy Outcomes conference in Toronto. For people having difficulty managing a chronic disease on their own, motivational interviewing can help them take on the challenge, she […]
A lack of understanding is a significant driver of stigma faced by employees who experience migraines, said Rob Grein, a partner at strategic marketing agency PMG Intelligence, during Benefits Canada‘s 2018 Healthy Outcomes conference in May. As part of recent research, Grein has been working to find out what migraine represents in the workplace today. […]
The federal government’s plan to increasingly regulate pharmaceutical costs could mean Canadians with rare diseases may lose access to new innovative drug treatments, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute. In 2019, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board is planning to use new rules for establishing drug prices with the goal of lowering costs. “Drugs for […]
Pacific Blue Cross has appointed John Crawford as its president and chief executive officer. Crawford took over as interim president and chief executive officer in November 2017 upon the retirement of Jan Grude. Since joining Pacific Blue Cross in 1989, Crawford has been a vice-president, senior vice-president and chief financial officer. Prior to that, he was a senior […]
High-cost drugs accounted for 41.6 per cent of patented medicine sales in 2017, up from 8.3 per cent a decade earlier, according to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board’s latest annual report. Federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor tabled the report, which also illustrated a rise in the sales of patented medicines in 2017. Sales […]
Starseed Medicinal Inc. has reached an agreement to be the medical cannabis supplier for Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. The agreement is subject to Health Canada’s approval of Shoppers Drug Mart’s application to be a licensed producer. The products are expected to be sold online due to current regulations restricting the sale of medical marijuana in retail pharmacies. […]
More than two-thirds (69 per cent) of Canadians would use virtual visits for at least a few of their appointments with physicians, according to a new survey by the Canadian Medical Association. The survey, which queried more than 2,000 people, shed some light on technology and health care, as well as the generation gap between older […]
Mercer is acquiring the investment consulting, alternatives consulting and wealth management operations of Pavilion Financial Corp. Pavilion, a global investment services firm with about 300 employees, is headquartered in Winnipeg with offices across North America, in London, England and in Singapore. “In only a few years, we have assembled one of the industry’s top consulting […]