Over 5,000 individuals with clinical levels of depression and comorbid anxiety who completed CloudMD’s Therapist Assisted iCBT program experienced reliable symptom improvement

VANCOUVER, British Columbia and TORONTO, June 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (TSXV: DOC, OTCQB: DOCRF, Frankfurt: 6PH) (the “Company” or “CloudMD”), a healthcare technology company revolutionizing the delivery of care, is excited to announce the positive results of a comprehensive, evidence-based study on the outcomes of therapist assisted internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (“TAiCBT”).

Since 2020, CloudMD’s leading, clinically based TAiCBT provider, MindBeacon, has successfully treated thousands of people with clinically severe levels of depression and co-morbid anxiety. The results of the study released have proved the effectiveness of TAiCBT treatment for depression and anxiety.

Depression is a leading cause of disability and absence for all Canadian employers and the leading cause worldwide, impacting 350 million people¹. In Canada, around 11% of men as well as 16%² of women will be impacted by the condition throughout their lifetime. Close to half of people who suffer with depression (46%) will also experience anxiety in their lifetime, often at the same time. Knowing this, MindBeacon recently completed a study to seek a) the effectiveness of its depression protocol for those experiencing symptoms of both depression and anxiety, and b) the relationship between moderating factors (e.g., client characteristics), mediating factors (e.g., patterns of client and therapist engagement) and symptom reduction.

Highlights:

• Conducted a comprehensive analysis of two years of data, representing 12,839 people who consented to treatment for symptoms of depression.
• Treated thousands of people with clinically severe levels of depression, and thousands of people with clinically severe co-morbid anxiety.
• 77% of clients start treatment with clinical level symptoms (a score of 10 or more on the PHQ9) of depression; 56% are suffering from clinical levels of both depression and anxiety symptoms (a score of 8 or more on the GAD7).
• On average, clients start treatment with a depression symptom score in the moderately severe range (16) and finish with a score in the moderate depression range (10).
• Initial symptoms, amount of treatment readings and frequency of engagement all contribute to symptom improvement.
• More than half of clients with clinically severe symptoms experience reliable symptom improvement.
  • This compares very favourably with other forms of treatment and TAiCBT studies and experience in other jurisdictions.
• Clients with a range of engagement patterns can benefit from TAiCBT, clients who stretch out engagement over 4 or more weeks experience optimal results.
  • This is also consistent with past research showing that increasing engagement increases the number of clients achieving reliable clinical change.

The study was based on a comprehensive analysis of two years of data from January 2020 – December 2021. Clinical levels for depression are defined as a score of 10 or more on the PHQ9. On average, clients started treatment with a depression symptom score in the moderately severe range (16) and finished with a score in the moderate depression range (10). A reduction of 6 points in PHQ9 is considered a reliable change. In summary, nearly half of clients experienced a reliable change in their depression symptoms by the end of treatment.

“The rising incidence of mental health and increasing wait times is supporting the need for iCBT solutions,“ said Karen Adams, President and Interim CEO of CloudMD. “Our data analysts are dedicated to measuring outcomes to ensure that we are able to offer the treatment options that will result in improvement and return to function. We offer a full spectrum of mental health support solutions with multiple modalities of care which we feel confident will provide better health outcomes. Furthermore, we have one of the largest data sets for clinically based TAiCBT outcome measurement and data integrity, which is essential to showcase our program’s effectiveness, along with having the right processes in place to capture the proof points, and provide important outcomes data to our customers,” she continued.

After studying the effectiveness of its TAiCBT, the Company found that more than half of clients who actively engaged with the programs for four weeks or more saw symptom improvement, even if they completed few readings. Initial symptoms, amount of treatment readings and frequency of engagement all contributed to symptom improvement in the end.

The effectiveness of the Company’s TAiCBT programs showcase the support the program can offer to human resources and operational leaders as they help prevent absenteeism and leave of absence while taking employees forward on their wellness journey. For carriers, the program can help reduce the duration of disability claims, prevent short-term disability, and reduce absences at work due to depression.

“It’s not surprising that persistent engagement with the program is beneficial for symptom reduction but it is interesting that stretching engagement out appears to be more important that completing a lot of material in a short period of time,” said Matt Balcarras, PhD, clinical research lead at MindBeacon. “TAiCBT is designed to allow more choice and flexibility around the pacing of engagement, and we are pleased to show that our clients are able to find the pacing that works best for them,” he added.

The TAiCBT platform, with its high degree of client/therapist interaction and personalization to adapt to their individual needs and preferences throughout their treatment journey, is uniquely designed to foster continued client engagement leading to better outcomes. As shown in this study, CloudMD’s TAiCBT has proven highly effective treatment for people with clinical levels (moderately severe and moderate) of depression and comorbid anxiety.

Furthermore, CloudMD’s time to treatment at <5 days is 5 times faster than the 25 days Canadians typically wait for community health, or months or more for specialized support (e.g., post-traumatic stress)³. Earlier intervention has also been consistently shown to lead to better outcomes.

To access the full study, please click here: New study proves Therapist Assisted iCBT is a highly effective treatment for people with clinical levels of depression and comorbid anxiety. CloudMD will also be hosting a webinar about the research as part of its Better Outcomes Initiative, individuals can register for it here: Webinar Registration.

About CloudMD Software & Services

CloudMD is transforming the delivery of healthcare using technology and by providing a patient-centric approach, with an emphasis on continuity of care. By leveraging healthcare technology, the Company is building one, connected platform that addresses all points of a patient’s healthcare journey and provides better access to care and improved outcomes. Through CloudMD’s proprietary technology, the Company delivers quality healthcare through a holistic offering including hybrid primary care clinics, specialist care, telemedicine, mental health support, healthcare navigation, educational resources, and artificial intelligence (AI). CloudMD’s business is separated into three main divisions: Clinics and Pharmacies, Digital Solution and Enterprise Health Solutions, the Company’s fastest growing division. CloudMD’s Enterprise Health Solutions Division has built a leading employer healthcare solutions, including its Comprehensive Integrated Health Services Platform, which offers one comprehensive, digitally connected platform for educational institutions, corporations, insurers, and advisors to better manage the health and wellness of their students, employees, and customers.

CloudMD currently services a direct ecosystem of over 5,700 clinicians including, 1,800+ mental health practitioners, 1,600+ allied health professionals, 1,400+ doctors and nurses and covers 12 million individual lives across North America. For more information visit: https://investors.cloudmd.ca.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
        
“Karen Adams”
Interim Chief Executive Officer

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Julia Becker
VP, Investor Relations
[email protected]
(604) 785-0850

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” and “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the new Public Sector division; key focuses in 2022; deployment of strategic capital and the impact of integration of its acquisitions; and options to recover amounts owed to the Company in connection with the acquisition of VisionPros. These statements are based upon information currently available to CloudMD’s management. All information that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward‐looking statements. In some cases, forward‐looking statements may be identified by the use of terms such as “forecast”, “assumption” and other similar expressions or future or conditional terms such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “plan”, “predict”, “project”, “will”, “would”, and “should”. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based on certain factors and assumptions made by management of CloudMD based on their current expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs regarding their business and CloudMD does not provide any assurance that actual results will meet management’s expectations. While management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to them, they may prove to be incorrect. Such forward‐looking statements are not guarantees of future events or performance and by their nature involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those risks described in the Company’s MD&A (which is filed under the Company’s issuer profile on SEDAR and can be accessed at www.sedar.com), that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward‐looking statements. Although CloudMD has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward‐looking statements, other factors may cause actions, events or results to be different than anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could vary or differ materially from those anticipated in such forward‐looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward‐looking information. CloudMD does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

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¹ Webinar coverage: Depression in the workplace and redesigning employee support | Benefits Canada.com
² Mental Health – Depression – Canada.ca

³ https://bit.ly/3mbFHQy