Company partners with Medical Confidence, a CloudMD company,
to provide plan members on disability with timely access to care
and treatment
TORONTO, March 2, 2021 /CNW/ - Medavie Blue Cross has
partnered with Medical Confidence (part of CloudMD (TSXV: DOC)) to
begin providing select plan members on disability with the
opportunity to access MedExcellence – a personalized
healthcare navigation service that can reduce the wait time to see
a specialist.
Many Canadians experience long wait times to receive treatment
from a specialist. From referral by a general practitioner to
consultation and treatment by a specialist, the average wait time
for Canadians in 2020 was 22.6 weeks.1 The pandemic, and
the associated pressure placed on Canada's healthcare system, has caused these
wait times to increase further.1
"From what we are seeing, Canadians may now need to wait even
longer to get an appointment with a specialist," says Rebecca Smith, Director, Group Life and
Disability Services, Medavie Blue Cross. "We are delighted to offer
this opportunity to connect those on disability with a specialist
sooner. We believe this will help many of our plan members in
seeing the best possible health outcomes and potentially seeing a
quicker recovery from their disability."
MedExcellence works in alignment with the Canada
Health Act and provincial healthcare systems to get Canadians
on disability, who are waiting for an appointment, earlier access
to a specialist for their condition. Medical Confidence also works
with eligible individuals to help them understand their
health-related circumstance and become actively engaged in
decisions regarding their treatment and recovery.
"The majority of Canadians do not know what to do or where to
turn when faced with a serious medical condition," says
Angela Johnson, President of Medical
Confidence. "The ever-increasing wait times have become the norm,
made worse by COVID-19's impact on our healthcare system We are
delighted to be teaming up with Medavie Blue Cross. Through our
innovative navigation platform, we will provide Medavie plan
members a customized and caring approach to obtaining the right
treatment at the right time. The result is reduced wait times and
improved outcomes for patients and their physicians."
Benefits of MedExcellence:2
- The service leverages a national network of over 27,000
specialists.
- People who have used this service have been able to access a
specialist 220 days sooner on average.
- Disability insurers who have used the program have seen a
six-month reduction in duration of disability, on average.
- Improved employee satisfaction – reported by 75% of
clients.
Medavie Blue Cross disability case managers will work with plan
members on disability to access this service in appropriate
circumstances based on referral criteria.
About Medavie Blue Cross
Medavie Blue Cross is a
premier all-in-one carrier that provides health, dental, travel,
life and disability benefits, and administers various federal and
provincial government-sponsored health programs. Together with
Medavie Health Services, we are part of Medavie, a health solutions
partner committed to improving the wellbeing of Canadians.
We are one of Canada's Most
Admired Corporate Cultures and recognized as an Imagine Canada
Caring Company. As a not-for-profit organization, we are proud to
commit an annual social dividend to the Medavie Health Foundation
to support programs and initiatives aimed at addressing some of our
country's most pressing physical and mental health care
challenges.
About Medical Confidence
Medical Confidence is a
pioneer healthcare navigation platform that reduces healthcare
costs through achieving better health outcomes. Working in
alignment with the Canadian Health Act, Medical Confidence removes
the numerous causes for delay in our healthcare system to achieve
optimal access to care. Leveraging its unmatched national network
of over 27,000 specialists, it connects healthcare consumers to the
care they need, sooner, leading to earlier recovery. Its
health outcomes are measurable and demonstrate reductions in costs
associated with absenteeism and presenteeism. Medical Confidence's
corporate clients report that its services have reduced their
absence costs by 20%. For more information on Medical Confidence,
visit www.medicalconfidence.com.
About CloudMD Software & Services
CloudMD is
digitizing the delivery of healthcare by providing a patient
centric approach, with an emphasis on continuity of care. The
Company offers SAAS based health technology solutions to healthcare
providers across North America and
has developed proprietary technology that delivers quality
healthcare through a holistic offering including hybrid primary
care clinics, specialist care, telemedicine, mental health support,
educational resources and artificial intelligence (AI). CloudMD
currently services a combined ecosystem of over 500 clinics, almost
4000 licensed practitioners and 8 million patient charts across
North America. For more
information on CloudMD, visit investors.cloudmd.ca
REFERENCES
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1-
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Fraser Institute.
Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada, 2020
Report. Available at
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/waiting-your-turn-2020.pdf
Accessed on February 9, 2021.
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2-
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Medical Confidence.
MedExcellence. Available at:
https://www.medicalconfidence.com/medexcellence/ Accessed on
February 10, 2021.
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SOURCE Medavie Blue Cross