Toronto-based Maple is extending its reach in the mental health space. The virtual care provider announced August 26 that it will expand its digital health services into the delivery of personalized, proactive virtual mental health support.
The company’s new solution, dubbed Mind by Maple, provides employees with holistic mental health care, including self-service and healthcare provider-guided solutions to improve their mental health and well-being.
A study from the Canadian Centre for Addictions and Mental Health on mental health and the workplace reported that every week at least 500,000 Canadians miss work because of mental illness.
A recent poll conducted for Maple showed that as many as 60 percent of working Canadians believe their employer could be doing more to support their mental health.
The economic burden of mental illness in Canada is estimated to be approximately $51 billion each year, with $6.3 billion resulting from lost productivity. By 2041, it is estimated that the cumulative cost of poor mental health to the Canadian economy will exceed $2.5 trillion, according to the report.
A recent poll conducted for Maple showed that as many as 60 percent of working Canadians believe their employer could be doing more to support their mental health, and over half of working Canadians are looking for more mental health support from their employer as they return to the office.
In early August, Maple announced a partnership with California-based meditation app Headspace. The partnership provides users with access to guided meditations, mindfulness practices, and evidence-based content to improve mental well-being, further supporting a holistic, whole-person approach to proactive and reactive mental healthcare, according to Maple.
RELATED: Maple looks beyond public markets for growth and scale
It’s been quite a year for Maple. Following reports that the company expected to launch a $100 million initial public offering (IPO) on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Maple CEO Brett Belchetz told BetaKit that the firm had yet to file for an IPO, nor has Maple’s board of directors made a formal decision to do so.
Instead, Maple had begun testing its products in Florida and New York, under the auspices of an existing Canadian insurance client. Belchetz told BetaKit that the company was looking to increase both the scale and the breadth of its platform.
“If I have a mental health problem, I am going to get way better care for my mental health care if I’m getting my mental health care in the same place where my primary care is occurring, where my endocrinology care is occurring, where even my skincare is occurring,” the CEO told BetaKit in July. “All of these things tie in very closely together.”
Loblaw Companies Limited took a minority stake in Maple in September 2020, through its subsidiary, Shoppers Drug Mart, in a $75 million CAD round. Maple is working with Shoppers Drug Mart to develop new programs to improve in-person and virtual healthcare.
Maple is not the only virtual provider in the mental health field. In May, Toronto-based healthtech startup Felix Health announced a new virtual mental health service. Founded in 2019, Felix offers online doctor access and prescription delivery through its end-to-end telehealth treatment service. And Toronto-based MindBeacon, which offers a digital mental health treatment platform, underwent an IPO in December 2020 for total gross proceeds of $74.7 million.