CloudMD Launches Addiction Support Program Focused on Early Intervention and Relapse

• CloudMD launches virtual addictions support program across Canada
  
  
• The program further expands CloudMD’s revolutionary mental health product offering
• The Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) reports rising rates of mental health and substance use disorders as a result of pandemic related isolation
• In Canada, 25% of Canadians aged 35-54 staying at home due to COVID-19 indicate that their alcohol consumption has increased

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (TSXV: DOC, OTCQB: DOCRF, Frankfurt: 6PH) (the “Company” or “CloudMD”), a telehealth company revolutionizing the delivery of healthcare to patients, is excited to announce that it has launched an addiction support program through its mental health solution, Snapclarity Inc. (“Snapclarity”) and robust educational library, iMD Global Health Inc. (“iMD”) which focuses on providing support and resources for early intervention and relapse.

The COVID pandemic has highlighted a significant increase in health issues due to addiction and substance use disorder. According to the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), there is accumulating evidence that indicates a “second wave” is building caused by rising rates of mental health and substance use disorders. This imminent mental health surge will bring further challenges for individuals, families, and communities including increased deaths from suicide and drug overdoses. In Canada, 25% of Canadians aged 35-54 staying at home indicate that their alcohol consumption has increased⁽¹⁾. Substance abuse and addiction was a concern before the pandemic, with approximately 21% of the total population experiencing addiction at some point in their lifetime⁽²⁾.

There are many resources supporting individuals with anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions but few have a specialized treatment for early identification and management of substance use disorders.  This new program will include resources for early intervention and relapse to continue to support those with substance use issues. Through its proprietary app, Snapclarity offers mental health assessments and counselling to empower individuals in treatment and recovery, when integrated with iMD’s robust library of resources and education tools, the program will provide a comprehensive care plan that supports individuals on their mental health journey.

Karen Adams, Global Head of Enterprise Health Solutions commented, “We’ve developed this program recognizing that in most cases, individuals cannot address substance issues through traditional cognitive behavioural therapy programs or short-term care models. We are seeing an increasing trend of people concerned with habits being formed relating to alcohol use during COVID. We want to provide people an early intervention program to assist in what is sure to become a concern post COVID.”

Alongside the proprietary assessment tool that screens risk levels for a wide range and number of mental health concerns, the platform has introduced a specialized detailed substance use assessment to further understand the needs of the participants.  Through this assessment, the platform will be able to identify individuals who are suffering from substance use disorder or who are more likely to benefit from a preventative care plan. After the initial triaging process, patients will be connected with counsellors and therapists trained in addiction and substance use disorder. The healthcare professionals will be able to provide ongoing support, treatment plans and additional educational tools and resources to the patients. Longer term, the program provides aftercare support and includes in-app messaging for reinforcement, continued access to therapists, online recovery groups and individual recovery plans.

Dr. Essam Hamza, CEO of CloudMD commented, “We realize the immediate demand for increased mental health support including addiction and substance use disorders. Our team-based, holistic approach to healthcare is focused on delivering unique care plans specific to each individual through assessment and navigation. The combination of Snapclarity’s revolutionary mental health platform, and iMD’s robust educational library, is just one example of how we can integrate our healthcare solutions to build industry-leading platforms and programs to address whole-person care through multiple modalities and create individualized plans for treatment, support and recovery.”



About Snapclarity

Snapclarity is a pioneer through an on demand digital platform that provides an assessment for mental health disorders resulting in a personalized care plan, access to online resources, a clinical health care team and the ability to match to the right therapists. To learn more about Snapclarity please visit: and to download the individual app please visit the Apple App Store and/or the Google Play Store. Snapclarity is a CloudMD Company.

About iMD

iMD Health Global is a Toronto-based ehealth software development company, focused on innovating healthcare education. Since 2010, iMD has grown into Canada’s largest digital patient engagement platform. Centered “At The Point of Care”®, healthcare professionals use iMD’s cloud-based platform (in clinic or virtual consults) to engage with their patients at a deeper level and optimize knowledge transfer surrounding a patient’s condition and treatment plan. This is done through the seamless integration of over 80,000 images, booklets, and video resources (covering 2,100 medical topics), into an award-winning user interface that makes patient education both efficient and effective. The iMD platform is utilized by doctors, nurses and pharmacists in clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, infusion clinics and in-home care settings. Learn more at  and  iMD is a CloudMD Company.

About CloudMD Software & Services

CloudMD is digitizing the delivery of healthcare by providing a patient centric approach, with an emphasis on continuity of care. The Company offers SAAS based health technology solutions to healthcare providers across North America and has developed proprietary technology that delivers quality healthcare through a holistic offering including hybrid primary care clinics, specialist care, telemedicine, mental health support, educational resources and artificial intelligence (AI). CloudMD currently services a combined ecosystem of over 500 clinics, almost 4000 licensed practitioners and 8 million patient charts across North America. For more information visit: .

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

        

“Dr. Essam Hamza, MD"

Chief Executive Officer

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:

Julia Becker

VP, Investor Relations

Media Contact:

Sales:

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on CloudMD’s expectations, estimates and projections regarding its business and the economic environment in which it operates, including with respect to its business plans. Although CloudMD believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on such statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and CloudMD undertakes no obligation to update them publicly to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, unless otherwise required to do so by law.

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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