GUELPH, ON, Nov. 12, 2019 /CNW/ - The Co-operators, in partnership with WorldCare Health, Inc. (WorldCare), are proud to announce that a new, innovative Medical Second Opinion (MSO) product for mental health is now available to its group benefits clients.

With phase two of the research program successfully complete, and a 100 per cent positive satisfaction rate from participants, The Co-operators and WorldCare are ready to officially launch the MSO product – which will be the only institution-based MSO product that virtually recreates the experience a client struggling with either a critical medical or mental health illness would receive if they were to visit a physician or psychiatrist in-person.

"As Phase 2 closed, we continued to see success in the cases we reviewed and truly believe we can bring transformative help to those hundreds of thousands of Canadians who face challenges because of mental illness," says Richard Heinzl, Global Medical Director with WorldCare. "Access to the right kind of psychiatric guidance is the key. Giving people a complete comprehensive review of where they're at and where they're going can have a very positive effect."

The new MSO product combines the critical illness medical second opinion review with an additional layer that provides access to hundreds of sub-specialized psychiatrists and 60 specialty clinical and research programs that address virtually every aspect of psychiatric disorders including child and adolescent psychiatry. Clients can expect rapid, comprehensive and customized evaluations coupled with the resources and guidance needed to make on-going medical and mental healthcare decisions with confidence. The evaluations are completed by WorldCare's medical second opinion providers including Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry (partnered with Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital), which are ranked first and second for Psychiatry in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report.

"The research program provided impressive results that reinforce the value of MSOs, and we are excited to offer it more broadly as part of our growing suite of mental health resources," said Conor Quinn, vice president of Group Benefits Insurance with The Co‑operators. "We truly believe that this innovative solution could make a big difference in the wellness journey of those Canadians who are struggling, helping them feel heard and getting them the support, they need."

Ultimately, the new MSO product provides the participant and their physician with the information and resources needed to make informed on-going healthcare decisions with confidence.

About The Co-operators:
The Co-operators Group Limited is a Canadian co-operative with more than $46.7 billion in assets under administration. Through its group of companies, it offers home, auto, life, group, travel, commercial and farm insurance, as well as investment products. The Co-operators is well known for its community involvement and its commitment to sustainability. The Co-operators is ranked as the Corporate Knights' #1 Best 50 Corporate Citizen in Canada and listed among the Best Employers in Canada by Kincentric (formerly Aon Hewitt). For more information, visit www.cooperators.ca.

About WorldCare Health, Inc.
WorldCare's mission is to improve healthcare outcomes of members worldwide by connecting them to the foremost medical experts at top-ranked U.S. hospitals. WorldCare fulfills its mission by using a unique virtual medical guidance approach, which digitally recreates the experience of a person walking into the leading medical institutions in the United States, providing the highest-touch coaching, medical second opinions available worldwide. For more information, visit www.worldcare.com.

SOURCE The Co-operators