a new digital care platform is making women’s health a workplace priority
“the unfortunate reality is that timely access to expert midlife care is out of reach for many women"
3 minute read
speakers at benefits canada’s 2024 future of work summit revealed that women are reducing hours, taking lesser roles or leaving the workforce to manage menopause symptoms.
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a new digital platform for employers in canada aims to level up access to care for women in the workforce.
june health is the first to offer medical and lifestyle care tailored to perimenopause and midlife health of women in an integrated virtual platform where users don’t have to go knocking on numerous different doors themselves for help. the goal is that mid-life women can get timely access to expert-led integrated care from physicians, nurse practitioners, dietitians, mental health professionals, and naturopaths. it brings together experts, convenient treatment options, pharmacy services, and a marketplace for products like supplements.
virtual care platform centred on perimenopause can boost productivity and cost-savings
why is this a big deal? for employers, it can be a boon for productivity, morale, and cost-savings. for women, it could be the help they’re looking for while they’re juggling parenting, work, caring for aging parents, and their own health concerns.
“untreated perimenopause is a silent productivity and retention crisis that hits companies where it hurts—in absenteeism, burnout, and talent attrition. june is purpose-built to solve this clinically, digitally, and operationally at scale,” said lori casselman, founder and ceo of june health, in a news release.
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“the unfortunate reality is that timely access to expert midlife care is out of reach for many women, and employers have a tremendous opportunity to be part of the solution. it’s a necessary evolution of healthcare benefits, which are built to support the health needs of an entire workforce.”
casselman, whose experience includes roles at sun life and telus health, saw the gaps in how the healthcare system and employee benefit models don’t address serious health symptoms women try to manage through midlife. she partnered with dr. romy nitsch, medical director and deputy department head in obstetrics and gynecology, and associate professor at queen’s university in kingston, ontario, and fazlin bandali, a former director at shopify, to create the platform.
care gap: women over age 40 make up a significant part of working population
women over age 40 represent a quarter of the canadian working population, with those between 45 and 55 the fastest growing segment of working women, experts say. speakers at benefits canada’s 2024 future of work summit revealed that women are reducing hours, taking lesser roles or leaving the workforce to manage menopause symptoms. a report by the menopause foundation of canada found that half of canadian women felt unprepared for perimenopause and menopause and women’s knowledge of the range of symptoms was low. further, many women say their symptoms were diminished and ignored by doctors.
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the needs of this population are not directly addressed by most health benefit programs, despite the opportunity to reduce healthcare costs and drive measurable workforce return on investment, the june 世界杯决赛2022 release pointed out: “with the canadian economy losing an estimated $3.5 billion annually due to unaddressed menopause symptoms, june health helps employers tackle one of the last remaining frontiers in inclusive, high-impact benefits design.”
treat perimenopause as ‘the complex medical phase it truly is’
as nitsch said in the release, “perimenopause can last up to 10 years, presents with over 40 common symptoms, and affects everything from cognitive function to cardiovascular health.” she added, “it’s time we stopped treating this as a lifestyle issue and started addressing it as the complex medical phase it truly is.”
the platform sets itself apart from generic telehealth or symptom-based consumer apps by offering a care model centred around perimenopause symptoms and a multidisciplinary team of health experts who specialize in women’s health.
features also include a proprietary intake system that assesses symptoms and connects members to the right specialists at the right time, care coordinators who help women navigate coverage, treatment options, and provider referrals, and a community hub for programs and peer support. there’s also ask june, an ai-powered assistant for real-time symptom tracking and guidance.
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the takeaway here is that now employers can be part of the solution to support women’s health needs.
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