In this podcast you’ll hear the discussion Denise Balch has with Justin Bates, Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Pharmacists Association on the mandate of the OPA, why Ontario falls short on the role of pharmacists in primary care, the value of engaging pharmacists to reduce the burden of disease in the workplace, and the future of pharmacy.

This podcast is free. Thank you to our season sponsors for the Benefits Breakfast Club for making this podcast possible.

Find out more information on upcoming podcasts and webinars at www.connexhc.com.

In this podcast Denise Balch of Crosslinks and Connex Health speaks with John Ly, Director of Pharmacy Operations for the Sobeys National Pharmacy Group. They discuss the drivers of provincial changes to pharmacy scope of practice, how these vary provincially, and the specifics of the expanded scope, including the role of pharmacy in disease management.

This podcast is free. Thank you to our season sponsors for the Benefits Breakfast Club for making this podcast possible.

Find out more information on upcoming podcasts and webinars at www.connexhc.com.

In this podcast Denise Balch of Connex Health speaks with Ned Pojskic, VP Pharmacy Benefits Management at Green Shield Canada about obesity, why obesity is a disease, and why Green Shield is changing their reimbursement philosophy across their block of business in 2023. Ned oversees the PBM portfolio at Green Shield, including product development, pharmaceutical partnerships, and operations. In that role he is leading a new direction for Green Shield as an insurer and pharmacy benefits manager. Join this podcast for a discussion on trends in obesity, an overview of clinical practice guidelines, and the three contributing factors to obesity. 

This podcast is free. Thank you to our season sponsors for the Benefits Breakfast Club for making this podcast possible.

Find out more information on upcoming podcasts and webinars at www.connexhc.com.

Joining Denise Balch for this podcast is Joan Weir, recently appointed Vice President, Group Benefits, at the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA). 

Joan and Denise will explore key areas of change in employee benefits:

• The insurance industry response to COVID-19 and the aftermath, including insights into long COVID and COVID-related disability trends
• The CLHIA Fact Book 
• CLHIA and drugs for rare diseases
• Pharmacare and new data on the uninsured
• Publicly funded dental benefits
• Paramedical benefit trends
• Prior authorization and an electronic submission solution
• Pharmacy claim standards
• Vision care beyond vision correction – closing the gaps on diagnosing disease
• Vaccines and their place in group benefit plans

Hear directly from CLHIA on these important developments in group benefits that will affect plan sponsors.

This podcast is free. Thank you to our season sponsors for the Benefits Breakfast Club for making this podcast possible.

Find out more information on upcoming podcasts and webinars at www.connexhc.com.

Joining Denise Balch as guests on this podcast are Dr. Jiwon Oh, a staff neurologist, scientist, and Medical Director of the Barlo Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Program at St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto who specializes in the care of people living with MS, and Ardra Shephard, a sought-after writer, consultant and speaker who lives with MS. Ardra’s award-winning blog Tripping On Air enjoys an international reach and reputation and she has a regular column with Healthline (Ask Ardra Anything).

Dr. Oh provides education on MS, the importance of an early diagnosis, and how a treatment plan targeted to each patient’s disease profile delivers best possible health outcomes. Learn about the impact of MS from Ardra Shephard, as she weighs in alongside Dr. Oh on the reimbursement challenges patients can sometimes face. Dr. Oh also provides insights into how diagnostics and treatments have evolved to provide better health outcomes for patients and what the potential for future developments in MS treatment hold.

Listen now to obtain a 0.5 CE credit for this session.

This podcast is free. Thank you to our season sponsors for the Benefits Breakfast Club for making this podcast possible.

To obtain CE credits, please complete the survey.  CE credits will be issued 7-10 days after the podcast date. You can also reach out to Nathan Smofsky at nathansmofsky@connexhc.com to obtain your credits.

John Anacleto, Director of Private Payer Strategies & Data Insights, PDCI Market Access, joins Denise Balch to explore more on data analytics, why data is in higher demand than ever and how data can be used.

John will give his insights into how data reporting and data analytics have changed, and how the industry is responding to the demand from advisors and plan sponsors for better tools for understanding trends and forecasting purposes. From benchmarking to dashboards to how data can deliver value you won’t want to miss this session if you use data to help understand the past and evaluate the future.

This podcast is free. Thank you to our season sponsors for the Benefits Breakfast Club for making this podcast possible.

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Find out more information on upcoming podcasts and webinars at www.connexhc.com.

What has changed for SMEs in group benefits? Find out by signing up to the BPHA program to hear our latest of 16 recently-updated modules. Max Mahardi, Business Development Manager at Ontario Blue Cross describes health and dental benefit plan challenges for small businesses, and innovative solutions that are available to them. In the link below Max gives a brief overview of what you can expect to hear in Session 5, Module 3, Individual Health and Dental Plans.

Are you having difficulty finding good content to stay on top of the rapidly changing group benefits landscape? Look no further than the Benefits and Private Healthcare Associate program. In addition to covering all the basics and more of group benefits by industry professionals in 35 hours and CE credits, you get to stay current with regularly updated content (up to 10 hours and CE credits per year) plus three free BPHA at lunch webinars (1.5 CE credits each) on current hot topics. The BPHA program is your surefire source for CE credits if you are life licensed or AS licensed across the country*.

Register for the program here or find out more about the program here before you register.

This program is the perfect match for industry seasoned professionals and beginners in a flexible, online self-study and accessible format, and is comprehensive and affordable. Plus, you get access to additional exclusive member resources including a library of industry news and reports, an insights blog, and Ask the Expert resource.

Group discounts are available and our program can be customized to fit your organization’s needs for professional development.

Find out more at connexhc.com/bpha.

*CE credits are available in British Columbia, Alberta (A&S credits only), Ontario, and the Atlantic provinces. Additional accreditations are expected in early 2022.

We are pleased to welcome Cole Pinnow, President of Pfizer Canada and the recently appointed Chair of the Board for Innovative Medicines Canada to this podcast. Mr. Pinnow has a background as a microbiologist in the pharmaceutical industry and a masters in business administration. He is also a Board member of Montreal InVivo, and a co-lead for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s COVID-19 Recovery Leadership Council.

In this podcast, Mr. Pinnow provides insights into lessons learned about how Canada and the pharmaceutical sector have responded to the pandemic and the lingering impact of the ‘shadow’ pandemic. He answers questions about healthcare resiliency and the impact of chronic disease, specialty drugs and drugs for rare diseases on patients and plan sponsors. Plus he makes comment on the opportunities and benefits of collaboration between research based pharmaceutical companies and insurers.

Join us for these and more fascinating insights. This podcast is free. Thank you to our season sponsors for the Benefits Breakfast Club for making this podcast possible.

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Find out more information on upcoming podcasts and webinars at www.connexhc.com.