As the country began shutting down to focus on beating back the coronavirus at the height of the pandemic in March 2020, people with chronic health conditions fell to the back of the health-care line. “While all Canadians probably faced — to some extent — a negative impact due to some of the public health […]
While 53 per cent of employees said their employer has provided good support during the coronavirus pandemic, 40 per cent reported difficulty in accessing mental-health care through their workplace benefits plan, according to a new survey by Mercer. The survey, conducted among 14,000 employees across 13 countries, found access to quality mental-health care was more […]
SAP Canada Inc. is accelerating the expansion of virtual wellness offerings through its benefits package amid the coronavirus pandemic. “The pandemic has essentially pressed fast-forward on a direction that the market was already going,” says Megan Smith, vice-president and head of human resources at the software company. “It forced the issue of remote work, causing employers […]
Just before the coronavirus pandemic arrived in Canada, Scotiabank made a pretty significant change to how it communicated about its benefits plans and programs with employees. With so much information available to employees, the bank realized it might not necessarily be easy to digest or understand, said Ayman Alvi, Scotiabank’s director of global benefits, during Benefits […]
For years, digital offerings played second banana to in-person options for many employers aiming to connect with and support employees. Not anymore. As employers and employees face down year two of the coronavirus pandemic, digital supports have moved from understudy to centre stage. “The pandemic has changed the environment significantly, as we all know, and […]
When Leona Guenette comes down with a bad case of bronchitis, she knows exactly what antibiotics she needs. Normally for Guenette, the pension and benefits administrator of the Sagkeeng First Nation, that meant scheduling an appointment with her local doctor to get a prescription. But as of June 2020, when Sagkeeng and 350 other First […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is part of an investment group acquiring New Look Vision Group Inc., a provider of eye-care products and services across North America. According to a press release, New Look Vision is valued at $800 million, and the Caisse, along with FFL Partners, LLC and the Dr. H. […]
Amazon.com Inc. is making its first foray into providing health-care services, announcing Wednesday it’ll expand its internal telemedicine program to all U.S. employers who want it. The technology company’s app, Amazon Care, is currently available to its employees in Washington state and connects users with on-demand access to doctors, nurse practitioners and nurses who can […]
Green Shield Holdings Inc. is acquiring Inkblot Technologies, a virtual mental-health platform that uses artificial intelligence-assisted technology, network effects and advanced analytics to match patients with counsellors. “Building on our previous . . . digital-health investments and partnerships, the acquisition of Inkblot fits with our strategic objective of increasing access for our clients to leading health services […]
Employees were increasingly using digital mental-health-care options for years, but the coronavirus pandemic shifted the trend into high gear. Since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic almost one year ago on March 11, 2020, providing some health-care virtually instead of in-person has become the norm. By the end of March 2020, […]