While chronic conditions such as
diabetes, high cholesterol and asthma
continue to be prevalent illnesses in
the workplace and account for high
prescription drug spending, mental health
issues such as depression and anxiety are
also impacting the workplace in higher
numbers. According to statistics from the
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
(CAMH), at least half a million Canadians
are unable to work due to mental health
problems in any given week. The Drug
Trend Report found that spending
on prescription drugs that help treat
depression has also increased. The report
also indicates that cancer diagnosis is on
the rise and has been the leading cause
of death in Canada for the last 10 years.
Cancer ranked seventh in overall spending
in 2017, up from its 2016 ranking of tenth
place. The performance of employees who
suffer from those conditions can negatively
be impacted because naturally, they have
good days and bad days while they are
being treated. Employees would like to
work and contribute on the days that they
feel well, but this can be unpredictable,
and employers also do not want to be
liable for an employee who works during
treatment. This can be challenging to
balance for employers.
Providing targeted, timely support
to help members make decisions that
optimize cost and care is essential. This
can be achieved through several methods,
including: aligning member and plan
sponsor interests through intelligent
design solutions, providing incentives
for optimizing therapy, identifying
opportunities to capture the attention of
employees at the right time to infl uence
optimal treatment decisions, helping
employees conveniently implement
optimal decisions and more importantly,
empowering and engaging plan members/
employees.
Companies can help control costs while
making sure their employees are healthy
by taking a holistic approach to wellness.
This ensures chronic conditions are caught
and treated early for best outcomes. Plans
need to be managed comprehensively and
members with high-cost chronic conditions
require targeted support. Urgent action
to control costs and close gaps in care
is essential for any company. Adopting
comprehensively managed plans makes
it possible for plan sponsors to improve
health outcomes for their employees at a
cost that they can afford.
Stéphanie Myner-Nham is the director of
human resources and corporate services
with Express Scripts Canada.
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