Frequently Asked Questions: Individual & Employee Family Assistance Program and Virtual Care

For Personal Health Plan Members: Log into your Saskatchewan Blue Cross Member Portal to locate the details of your benefits via the Coverage Details page, or download the Homewood Health and Cleveland Clinic Express Care Online mobile apps.

For Group Plan Members with EFAP included in their plan: Ask your plan administrator for your organization access code.

Yes, all services are fully confidential. Homewood Health and Cleveland Clinic Canada are trusted leaders in providing private and secure support and healthcare services. Your identity and personal information are safeguarded and will not be shared, except as required by law.

Homewood Health’s IAP and EFAP provide you and your eligible family members with a wide variety of mental health, wellness and personal life supports. Some of the services you have access to as a Saskatchewan Blue Cross plan member include, but are not limited to:

• Counselling services to assist with depression, anxiety, grief/bereavement, and more
• Sentio iCBT, an internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (iCBT) program designed to provide support for mild to moderate depression, anxiety and other mental health issues
• Life Smart Coaching service for everyday challenges such as financial and family care, smoking cessation, lifestyle changes and nutrition, and more
• A tailored library of online resources

Homewood Health offers a range of counselling modalities that can be tailored to your individual needs. These include options for:

• Video Counselling: you can access personal, face-to-face contact with a counsellor, no matter where you live
• In-person Counselling: counselling may be delivered in-person. To support in-person counselling, Homewood Health draws on a network of professionals across Canada.
• Telephonic Counselling: counselling delivered over the phone is especially valuable if you prefer the added anonymity of a telephone appointment, are time-challenged, or in-person is not convenient or possible.
• Chat e-Counselling: offers real time interaction with a counsellor in a secure chat room.
• Private Conversations e-Counselling: Private Conversations is a highly secure application that functions similar to email. With this option, you have the freedom to compose thoughts, edit and stop writing and return to the exchange when you’re ready.

Saskatchewan Blue Cross has partnered with Homewood Health to offer our plan members access to a best-in-class Individual Assistance Program (IAP) and Employee Family Assistance Program (EFAP).

Homewood Health is at the forefront of mental health and well-being, providing Canadians with an unparalleled continuum of care. They achieve outstanding outcomes daily through their national network of over 6,000 employees and clinical experts working in partnership with leading employers, organizations, researchers and governments. Their unique and comprehensive stepped care continuum provides the most complete range of mental health services available nationally.

Virtual Care, also referred to as telemedicine, allows patients to receive care from a provider virtually via a video or phone consult without having to visit a clinic in-person.  Cleveland Clinic Canada’s Express Care Online allows patients to connect live with a nurse practitioner to get a diagnosis or medical advice for non-emergency health conditions.

A Cleveland Clinic Canada nurse practitioner can diagnose, treat, and prescribe medications for non-emergency conditions like:

• Flu
• Allergies
• Sinus issues
• Cough
• Common cold
• Pink eye
• Anxiety/Depression
• Acute diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting
• Rashes, skin problems, burns, insect bites

After your assessment, if needed, you can receive:

• Lab and imaging requisitions
• Prescriptions sent to your preferred pharmacy
• Referrals to specialists
• Case coordination with Cleveland Clinic Canada
• Case coordination with Homewood Health (with your consent) for mental health and wellness support

Express Care Online is available 24/7/365, in all provinces except Quebec.

In Quebec, services are available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST daily, excluding statutory holidays.

You and your eligible dependents can use Virtual Care services as much as you need, there is no cap on the number of visits or on the number of concerns you may want to address at an appointment.

Cleveland Clinic Canada is the Canadian location of Cleveland Clinic, a global nonprofit academic medical centre that has provided world class patient care to people from around the world since 1921. Their multi-disciplinary team of physicians and wellness experts provide in-person care at their clinics in Toronto as well as virtual care across Canada. Cleveland Clinic Canada patients benefit from the expertise of dozens of Canadian physicians, specialists and wellness experts, as well as over 5,000 physicians and specialists across the Cleveland Clinic network.