TORONTO — Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM) is launching a drug plan focused on better managing chronic conditions to help companies and their employees save 5% to 10% on their existing plan.

The HealthWATCH for Business plan will integrate with Canadian employers’ current health coverage.
“We understand that employers are facing unprecedented financial pressures due to increasingly complex conditions and more costly therapies,” says Mark Rolnick, SDM’s vice president of payor partnerships and plan sponsor ­innovation.

“This HealthWATCH for Business drug plan is designed to help employers reduce spending on traditional therapies and create room in the drug plan to afford the growth and innovation of specialty medications.”

With the prevalence of such chronic conditions as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and mental illness, the costs of benefits have never been higher. According to the Conference Board of Canada, the average cost of providing benefits is now $8,330 (Canadian) per full-time employee annually. Employee drug plans typically make up a significant and growing portion of that spend.

Moreover, traditional, nonspecialty medications frequently used to treat chronic conditions comprise more than 70% of an employer’s spending for drug coverage and 98% of the drug claims. Yet, in recent years, these traditional medications have often been overlooked by employers seeking to better manage their specialty drug plan spend.

HealthWATCH for Business offers employees enhanced ­real-­time support at the pharmacy counter. Employees enrolled in the plan will be supported across the country by teams in more than 1,800 pharmacies across the store networks of SDM and parent Loblaw Cos. to help ensure a smooth plan member ­experience.

Members will also benefit from the support of the company’s Patient Contact Centre, which is focused on improving adherence to medications for chronic conditions.

“Five years ago, Shoppers Drug Mart introduced a similar drug plan for its corporate employees, and since then we’ve benefited from considerable and sustained savings on our total drug spending within the plan,” says Rolnick. “Now we are able to share our solution with other Canadian employers to help them ensure the future sustainability of their drug plans.”

While close to half of its outlets are in Ontario, SDM has pharmacies from Newfoundland and Labrador to the Northwest Territories and Yukon. The chain set a new standard of pharmacy care 26 years ago when it introduced HealthWATCH, a collection of unique supportive tools and services for patients.